If Only The Little Mermaid
by atomicseasoning
Summary: A slightly alternate ending or situation for Disney's The Little Mermaid.
1. Chapter 1

If Only...

(A Little Mermaid fanfic)

This fanfic is inspired by the song 'If Only' and is a What if sequence for the movie...

It is the evening of the second day he'd spent with the mystery girl, known only as Ariel. Eric contemplated what Grimsby told him about how it would be better to pursue a girl of flesh and blood than his singing rescuer, who was a mystery as well. Eric also contemplated his situation, he was nearly 21 years old, (his birthday was actually the next day), and his parents had passed away only a few months earlier. According to a royal statute, anyone of the royal family who didn't marry within five years of succeeding the throne would have to abdicate it. Eric thought that it was a rather crazy rule, but he didn't feel like contesting it. That and the fact that Ariel, in her own quiet way had made him happier than he'd been for awhile, made him realize that it was high time he did something about it and grow up a bit in the process.

With that in mind, he tossed his sailor's flute into the ocean and walked across the courtyard, through the castle, and up to Ariel's bedroom. With a little nervous courage, he cleared his throat and proceeded to knock on her door. After a moment, Ariel came to the door and opened it. Up until that moment, she'd been sitting by the dressing table mirror, combing her hair and thinking about how she'd only had one more day to get her prince, or well...she didn't want to contemplate what else could happen.

Ariel answered her door and was pleasantly surprised that it actually was Prince Eric. Since she was still momentarily mute, all she could do was give him a coquettish smile when she opened the door. Prince Eric proceeded to walk in the door, paced around the room somewhat nervously, and went on to say

"Oh hello Ariel...yes we need to talk...or at least I need to talk to you...I hope you've been comfortable here, and I see you have been...This is a nice room, though I guess my room is a bit bigger and you should see the view, though you will soon...Oh, uh sorry I'm getting ahead of myself a little...I meant to ask you, well I'm in a bit of a situation and well...I know we haven't known each other very long, but I do think you're pretty and quite tolerable...and based on how you acted today in the rowboat, I think the feeling is mutual...So if I should be so bold to ask, I was wondering...Ariel will you agree to be my wife...Um marry me?...I know this is sudden but..."

Suddenly Ariel jumped up, ran over, gave him a hug, and nodded rather enthusiastically. Eric wasn't sure what to say, other than to chuckle and give her a hug back. Then he said "Well I guess that's a yes then...Ha ha...Yeah okay we'll get married then. My birthday's actually tomorrow, so if you think that's fine we'll get married then...tomorrow. Oh I know you're no doubt pretty young, and probably and orphan...like I am...but I don't think you're too young, by the look and feel of you. Okay little girl, Ariel, we'll get married tomorrow then."

Eric then picked her up, carried her over to her bed, gently placed her there and said "But now it's probably your bedtime, so let's get you to bed...I guess I better get used to this now hmmm...Ah ha ha you're not too heavy, that's good...and I guess I better leave now...so goodnight sweet Ariel I'll see you tomorrow." as he pushed back a tendril of her hair to kiss her temple, then turned around and left, closing the door behind him.

Ariel was on cloud nine after everything Eric had said and did. She tried out her voice, but unfortunately it had not been enough to break Ursula's spell, because she was still mute. Still though Eric was willing to marry her, the next day even, so she was definitely pleasantly surprised. Happily she fell asleep, dreaming of her prince.

Eric headed back to his bedroom, contemplating everything he had said and did. Was it foolish to marry a mute girl who he had only just met? He was not sure, still there was something about Ariel that he couldn't place. He then hoped that their children wouldn't turn out to be mute as well, but he doubted they would. Marriage, children, was he ready for the responsibility? Well he was a prince, so duty was always supposed to be over all else, but still it would mean changes everywhere indeed. It certainly would be an interesting day the next day, that was for sure.

The next day the sun rose to a sky that was a perfect shade of blue. As Eric consulted his staff to make arrangements for the wedding that evening, Ariel got up and dressed. Charlotta the maid arrived and told told her they were creating her a wedding gown as quickly as they could so that it would be ready for the evening wedding. She then chided Ariel for being such a young bride, but said it was only proper that Eric married her soon since gossip had already filtered through the castle about how he'd found her on the beach wrapped only in a sail cloth. When Charlotta came to her to help, Ariel didn't know what she was talking about when she said to "Lay back and think of your homeland, and it shouldn't take long", and wasn't sure why she told her to ask her anytime about birthing babies, when the time came.

The rest of the day went by in a blur of commotion, preparing for the wedding and and so forth until finally it was time for the wedding. The other maids escorted Ariel onto the ship and helped her get ready by helping her dress, fixing her hair and so forth. Finally, all too soon, it was time for the ceremony, and so she walked down the aisle to the tune of a wedding march, all the while she wished that her sisters and father could be there, but of course that couldn't be. Ariel then met Eric who was standing by a little man in a white robe and funny pointy hat, who someone had told her was the priest.

The ceremony went fairly quickly and before they knew it, the priest pronounced them man and wife, and that Eric could kiss his bride. At that kiss, Ariel was finally able to speak, and she giggled said

"Why hello Eric...he he!"

Surprised, Prince Eric looked down at her, smirked, and said, "Ah now you decide to talk? Hmm, were you the one who rescued me?"

"Oh yes Eric, I wanted so much to be able to talk...but I couldn't...then you kissed me and now I can! You broke the spell!"

"Spell? Did I cast a spell on you last night?" Eric said huskily.

"Not exactly...but it doesn't matter anymore because I can talk now" Ariel excited exclaimed.

"And yeah now you'll probably talk my ear off like most other wives do..." he said sarcastically.

"ERIC!" she said exasperatedly,

"Sorry I was just kidding..." he laughed.

Grimsby and a few others came over to coax them to the wedding reception, which they attended. The reception was a happy affair and quite busy for everyone since the couple had to greet all of their guests personally.

After their reception, Ariel suddenly realized that she was getting tired, and then suddenly Eric began acting like he was tired too, although Ariel wondered if he really was or not. Either way she kept chattering on in her excitement for the day. When they got to their bedroom door, Eric suddenly playfully picked her up and carried her through the door, depositing her on the bed. When she hit the bed though she bounced a little, which caused her to start to laugh.

"Oh Eric that was so fun, lets try that again! These beds are so bouncy! Ha ha ha!"

"Yeah I suppose they are..." he chuckled as he began to remove his jacket and shirt.

Ariel tried to stand up on the bed, but then just collapsed into a fit of giggles...

"Oh Eric I don't know what got into me, maybe it was the champagne?...Ha ha ha...Oh it hurts to laugh...Oh you're taking off your coat and stuff, can you help me with this dress?"

"My pleasure my dear...Let's see how does this all go?..."

"Oh just undo those button things in the back...and then untie all of those string things..."

"Oh do you mean your corset and stays?"

"Yeah whatever they're called, just get them undone..."

"Hmm, you're anxious...Let's see, uh oh I think I have a knot..."

"No Eric! You've got to be kidding me!"

"Sorry Ariel, I was. Let's see...Ah here we go..."

Eric finally got her corset strings undone and was about to lean down to kiss her shoulder, when Ariel stepped away from him, walked across the room, and gave a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank you, I can finally breathe again! I don't think I'll get used to wearing those things."

Eric looked at her out of the corner of his eye and asked "Oh that's women's fashions for you, I guess. So you must've just started wearing corsets then huh?"

"Oh yes just since I've been here to visit you!" Ariel replied as she pulled the rest of her gown off, combed her hair in front of her breasts, and was left standing in her petticoat underskirts.

"So you don't have corsets where you come from?" Eric asked, as he continued to remove his shirt.

"Yeah things are pretty different where I'm from...Uh where's a dingle hopper? ...And my nightgown?" Ariel asked, a bit distracted, as she looked around the room.

"A dingle hopper?" Eric chuckled.

"Yeah a dingle hopper...Long handle with pointed teeth...You used one for dinner once! Or at least I need something to comb my hair..." Ariel answered, exasperatedly, as she demonstrated how she'd used one to comb her hair.

"What do you mean a fork? Ha ha, you use a fork to comb your hair?" Eric laughed as he looked down at her.

Ariel just glared up at him and almost pouted, but then Eric reassured her "Oh don't get angry, I was just joking! I think there's a comb and brush on the stand over there." as he pointed to the stand beside their bed.

"Okay, I guess that'll have to do. Uh what about my night gown?" Ariel asked as she went over to the night stand and grabbed the hairbrush.

"Oh you're fine as you are...actually you won't be needing it..." he said as he turned around.

"Really? This petticoat skirt's sort of weird too..."

"Well then take it off!" he said suddenly a bit bolder.

"Okay if you want me too. But I don't have much..."

"That's fine..."

Ariel then took off her crinolines, climbed into the bed, and covered herself with a sheet. She glanced down at herself, and just stared at her new female self under the bed sheet.

"Oh I don't know if I'm used to to this yet or not...he he...Eric do you know that I have red hair between my legs..."

"Oh I imagine you do..." he chuckled off to the side.

As Ariel suddenly glanced up at him, her eyes went wide in surprise when she realized he didn't have much on either. She started to hide her eyes, but then was too curious of the human male body, so she stared back at him and gasped.

"Oh my!...You look different from me!...You look like...You look like...David! Though not exactly..."

Eric just gave her a curious look and asked, "David? Who's David? I thought that you'd never..."

"I haven't I swear! At least on a real human...I saw a picture of someone in a book I found once...but I think he was made of stone, like that stone that looked like you which Grimsby gave you..." she replied.

"The statue? How did you know about that? I received that on a ship that sunk in a storm?" he asked curiously.

"Never mind...Anyway you look different from that David statue I saw in a book! David had this pointed thing between his legs that sort of looked like...a hand or a starfish...while what you have certainly doesn't look like that!" she exclaimed.

"David statue? Oh ha ha ha you must've seen a picture of Michelangelo's 'David'...which had a fig leaf on it!" Eric said as he cracked up laughing.

"Fig leaf? So which one's right, you or David?" Ariel asked curiously.

"Well Ariel rest assured it's 'David' who had issues with his manhood, not me." Eric replied.

"Oh that's good! I didn't want you to be deformed or anything." Ariel said as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Deformed? Ha ha didn't your mother teach you anything?" Eric said as he shook his head, and started to climb into bed with her.

"No, my mother has been deceased since I was young." Ariel replied.

"Oh that's too bad...I can understand because my parents are gone too, though it has not been as long..." Eric said sympathetically, then added "Well if you haven't had your mother in a while, did you at least talk to Charlotta?"

"Well a little. She just told me to lay back and think of where I'm from, and you'd take care of the rest." Ariel said, then proceeded to lay on her pillow and shut her eyes.

Eric chuckled, then said, "Oh it doesn't have to be that bad, it can be fun for both of us, or so I've heard. And anyway, with all of your red hair, Ariel, I wouldn't expect you to just lay there like a cold fish!" he joked, while he stared at her and played with a strand of her hair.

"A cold... fish?" Ariel said, then gave him a curious stare.

"Hey I'm sorry, for whatever I said wrong! I was joking! Anyway sex should be enjoyable for both people, at least after the first time at it." Eric said as he turned to her in the bed.

"Sex? Oh do you mean you want to mate? Uh don't we need a tide pool for that?" she curiously asked.

"A tide pool? Well that's and interesting idea, maybe we can go to this lagoon I know of someday...But right now this bed will work fine." he laughed coyly.

"Really, we don't need a tide pool? Then how are we going to mate? Oh is it going to be all arms and legs, like an octopus?" she asked slightly disgusted.

"Like an octopus? Ha ha ha, you're funny, how would you know how an octopus mates?" he laughed.

"Uh you wouldn't want to know!" she answered disgustedly, then added, "Well then how is it done, for most humans?"

"Oh you are an innocent! Ha ha...well you know that part you asked about on me...and your other bits with the red hair..."

"Oh yeah that bit between my legs!"

"Yeah that has something to do with it too." he answered with a chuckle.

"But how?" she naively asked.

"You seriously don't know?...Well...how do I explain? Uh sort of like this, okay let's say this is you...and this is me...and we sort of go like this..." Eric tried to explain using his hands and fingers.

"Oh so we do that with out parts? But wouldn't that hurt?" she asked a little concerned.

"Well for you it might, but only for a little bit, so I've been told...I'll try to be gentle." he replied with a note of concern in his voice.

"Okay...though I'm still a little nervous...How do we begin?" she asked with a touch of nervous energy to her voice.

"Well why don't you just lay back, and we can start with kissing...and see how it goes from there..." Eric said huskily as he leaned over her to kiss her.

"Okay I think I can manage that!" Ariel said with a slight chuckle.

And so Ariel and Eric spent the next while learning from each other what pleased the both of them as they experimented in their love making.

Later that night, both awoke to discover that the motion on the ocean was more than their tenuous first bouts of making love. A great storm had suddenly brewed in their part of the ocean. Eric quickly jumped out of bed and began dressing.

"Oh sorry hon, it seems a big storm has popped up suddenly. I need to run up top a moment to check on things. You just stay in bed here where's safe, all right? I'll be back in a bit..."

"Uh oh, daddy!" Ariel thought to herself as Eric bounded out the door.

Ariel quickly jumped out of bed and began searching around, where she found her nightgown hanging in the closet. ("Ah so my nightgown was around here...Oh Eric..." she thought to herself with a chuckle.) She quickly slipped it on then ran out the door into the wind and rain. She even ran past Eric, and climbed to the side of the ship, hanging on the rigging ropes as the wind and rain whipped around her on all sides.

"Ariel, what are you doing? Get down before you fall!" Eric screamed while he rushed toward her.

"No Eric, stay back I can help! ...Oh DADDY!" Ariel shouted into the wind.

"What in the world are you doing? Ariel..." Eric yelled.

Suddenly the storm began to abate by a large measure, to everyone's surprise.

Eric just stared at his wife, then said astonished, "Who ARE you? Even the wind and rains obey your command! Oh...my...it's like Mark 4:41 'And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?' Oh my...are you a child of God?...Or did I just deflower the Virgin Mary?" "God have mercy on my soul..."

"We are all children of God, Eric, but I'm not biologically related to God, like Jesus. My daddy just thinks he's too much like God sometimes." Ariel tried to explain to Eric.

Suddenly, before anyone could say anything else, a wave crested over the horizon, and Mer-King Triton was riding the wave until it crested near the ship. He rode it up to the edge of the ship and stared face to face with Ariel.

"Young lady, I've been searching the seven seas for you and finally I found you! But what are you doing on a human ship with human LEGS?!" Triton growled.

"Daddy I can explain...I went to Ursula and got legs...because I'd fallen in love with Eric during that other storm a week ago..." Ariel tried to explain.

"What you fell in love with a HUMAN and went to URSULA for help?! Well you've been disobedient enough, I can change you back to a mermaid and you can be back home in no time, beached of course.." Triton said.

"Well...daddy you can't exactly...because this evening Eric & I got married..." Ariel shyly said.

"No! Certainly though you couldn't have..."

"Oops sorry daddy, too late...he he...I'm really a woman now!" Ariel shyly giggled.

"Oh well, if that's the case then it really is too late. You've made your bed Ariel now I guess you'll have to lay in it. You can never be a mermaid again, and thus you can't visit your family anymore." Triton said, with a tone of hurt in his voice.

"What? Oh daddy no!" Ariel sighed.

"It's the rules, although I must admit I'll miss you. I'll speak to your husband, but I'm sure he'll treat you well, I'll make sure of it. Well it's all a part of growing up, so sacrifices are all a part of that sometimes. So go you must, on to your husband and your new life...as a human..." Triton said.

"Oh daddy I'll miss you that's for sure." Ariel cried.

"Sh, you'll be fine..,be brave my girl, you're a woman now..." Triton softly said as he gave her one last hug, and stroked her head.

"Now Eric, I've got to talk to you..." Triton said to Eric.

"Hey I'm sorry sir, I had no idea she was even a mermaid..." Eric began.

"Ah I suspected as much...Well son we must talk...I must hear your story..." Triton said.

"Well sir I had this situation with my empire..." Eric began, then went on to explain everything that'd happened within the past few days and weeks.

And so after a while Triton left, leaving Ariel to tearfully watch him go, while Eric came up behind her, putting his arm around her and whispered in her ear "Oh love, what a life we have ahead of us. If we stick together, we'll be able to weather whatever storms life sends our way. It's getting late, so let's go back to bed. We can sleep, talk, or do whatever else...you'd like that wouldn't you."

"Yes I think so...but although making love is fun, it won't make me forget my past..." Ariel sorrowfully sighed as she cried against Eric's chest.

"Oh who said you have to forget your past? One's past is what makes a person who they are. Let's go on and we can discuss that if you want to sometime." Eric soothed.

"Oh yes that sounds good...Oh Eric, thank you...for understanding and being there for me...I'll be there for you too because I love you..." Ariel said.

"And I do too, I love you too, Ariel, my little mermaid." Eric said as they walked back to their wedding ship's bedroom to truly begin their future together. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The rest of Eric and Ariel's honeymoon went quite well for them indeed and eventually they came back to Eric's kingdom to live as the royal couple they were. For Ariel it was quite the adjustment learning how to be a human princess, learning how to direct the staff in what to prepare for dinner parties, continual etiquette lessons, and so forth. Sometimes she still slipped up, but fortunately she usually had her husband or one of the other staff to help her along.

Ariel's relationship with her husband went quite well. In the evenings they took walks on the beach, which started off as great times of conversation, but would even up in impromptu midnight swim, sex on the beach and keeping each other warm on the sand afterward. Sometimes they would even attempt to make love in the rowboat and would almost tip it over, which turned into a personal joke for them once they remembered how their first rowboat kiss had gone.

To Ariel, having a human husband was a wonder. One morning, Ariel woke just as the first light rays of dawn were creeping in through the curtains on their bedroom window. Eric was still asleep and was turned slightly away from her, so she just studied his profile by the dim light. The side of his face, his neck, shoulders, and back. From that much of him, he really didn't look that much different than the mermen she'd grown up around in Atlantica. Still though, her husband had other parts that any mermen she'd ever seen definitely didn't have, at least obviously. It were these parts that made her husband a wonder to her.

Even though she was human now and no longer a mermaid, Ariel hadn't lost her inborn curiosity about all things human, so she decided to go exploring. She wasn't afraid of slightly dark places, she'd grown up under the sea and explored sunken ships, so when she crept under the sheet it wasn't a big deal. She just crawled along feeling along the side of her husband's hip and leg, until she got to his feet. His feet smelled a little, but it wasn't really a bad thing, and she was still entranced by the ability to touch a real human and look at him up close. She wondered at the construction of feet, with their arches, toes, toenails, and so forth, all so different that fins. His legs were a wonder too, both so separate and strong, with sparse course hair growing along them. She crept even higher, until she got to his hip, stomach, and chest, by-passing the curious objects between his legs that truly made their genders different.

She kissed the side of his abdomen and listened for his heartbeat, half laying across him, when Eric suddenly woke up. He gazed down at his wife and asked huskily, with a half smile,

"Good morning Ariel...What are you doing?"

Surprised, Ariel leaned up, crossed her legs at the ankles and bent her knees so that the sheet rose and made her look somewhat like a mermaid again. She replied slightly nervously,

"Oh I was just exploring...you! I hope you don't mind."

"Oh no, I don't mind...Did you find anything interesting?" he mused.

"Oh yes, your feet are a wonder, so intricate. And your legs, with their muscles and hair, so different than fins with scales." she enthused.

"Okay that's good. I'm glad that you like my feet and legs...but what about anything else?" he mused.

"Oh well your chest is great, and I like how you have a bit of hair right beneath your navel that goes down to..." she said as she traced the hair on is abdomen.

"Emm, hmmm..."

"Oh yeah that...well when I last saw it, it was just laying there...but now...ow you're poking me in the belly, stop it...ha ha...oh do you wanna mate now?" she laughed as she realized what was happening.

"Ha ha I can't control it, especially with you half laying on me!" he jokingly groaned.

"Oh poor Eric, I'm so sorry, I'll get off..." she apologized as she started to move away.

"Aw woman, no...come here..I like you close." Eric said as he drew her further up him so that their faces met.

"Oh now I'm really on you, but I think I like it. Sorta like the time I rescued you from the sunken ship, but I didn't have legs then to be able to get close to you like this. Hmmm...but how are we gonna...? Shouldn't I be laying on the bed?" Ariel mused between brief kisses.

"Oh this should work too...Just move down a bit...And yeah you know what I mean."he said as he moved her against him and even drew her hand down to feel him.

"Oh yeah you did change...and I guess we can do it this way too...hmmm..." she said huskily as she smiled down at him.

He then drew lips down toward him to share in a passionate kiss and so much more.

Afterward, they laid in each other's arms and Ariel continued to ask him questions about himself and whys of certain things, which Eric tried to answer as best as he could.

When he suggested breakfast and she said that she wasn't very hungry, he decided to ask her some personal questions as well.

"Emm, Ariel how long have we been married now?"

She thought a moment, then said "Well I think it's been over a month or so...Yes over 33 wonderful days...you should know."

"Yeah I guess time passes pretty quickly...Well you asked me some personal questions about me, so I think I should ask some questions about you." he asked, his tone becoming slightly serious.

"Okay, what do you want to know?" she asked, a bit concerned.

"Well, Ariel, dear...emmm...At any time within the past month since we've been married, have you bled at all?" he asked cautiously.

"Bled at all? Well, let me think. There was that time right after we first got married...but you said that was normal." she said.

"Yeah I remember...Okay go on..." he mused.

"Then there was the time I cut my finger with the bread knife, the time I scratched my toe on a rock on the beach, the time that burr scratched my leg on our walk through the meadow, then when I almost skinned my knee attempting to see the robin's nest in the horse chestnut tree...but I think those were the only times so far. Sorry I'm such a klutz sometimes." she admitted a bit embarrassed.

"You climbed the horse chestnut tree to see a robin's nest?" he laughed, then checked himself and continued, "Aw it's okay I'm learning how curious you are about things in the human world, just be careful the next time and try not to climb any more trees, at least without me around. Anyway, those were the only times you've bled so far? No more like the first time?"

"No, you told me not to worry because that was only supposed to happen the first time we made love. And so far that's been the case...except sometimes when we're together..." she mused.

"Eh don't worry about that, it's normal too...I think..." he said reassuringly, then asked again,"...Anyway so you really haven't bled any other times?"

"No...should I have?" Ariel asked, a bit worried.

"Well yeah...but you may have to ask Charlotta or another female opinion...but anyway since you haven't so far...there might be a slight chance that you are already pregnant with my child." he admitted a bit nervously, gently stroking her stomach.

"What? REALLY?! Oh my...I might be having...your...baby?" she gasped, excitedly as she clutched her stomach.

"Yeah you might be...but if you're not, I'm sorry I got your hopes up...Still you don't seem to mind the idea." Eric mused huskily.

"Oh no, I don't mind. I love babies...and wow I can't believe I'll be having your baby! I wonder what it'll look like? I wonder how many I'll have?" Ariel sighed.

"Oh well I'm sure he or she will be adorable...a little bit you and a little bit me I guess...Wait, hold on a minute, How MANY?!" Eric questioned a bit surprised at the last part.

"Oh well, sometime mer people have many...and a few years ago I babysat the Clambakersfield's mer-twins, and boy were they a handful...but I think I'll probably have just one...I hope." Ariel mused.

"Twins? Yeah that would be interesting, thats for sure. Though I think I agree with you, one will be fine for now." Eric chuckled.

"Oh I wonder how long I'll have to carry the baby?" Ariel asked.

"Well I think it's about nine months." he admitted.

"Really? Wow! Oh I'll probably get fat then." she pondered.

"Oh all pregnant women get that way, but don't worry, I'll still love you." he reassured her, then continued "Do you have any more questions?"

"Yeah...hmmm...Eric, how did it get there?" she asked.

"Well...ha ha ha...you know what we just did..." Eric chuckled as he tried to explain.

"Oh yes, making love, or sex, or mating...oh that puts a baby there...ha ha yeah I should have known! But oh wait a minute...we've done that many times! Does that mean we're going to have many babies now?" she embarrassedly chuckled, then grew a bit worried.

"Oh don't worry about that dear...I think it only takes one time..." he said reassuringly.

"Oh okay. Oh...I wonder which time it was?" she pondered.

"Ha ha ha what a question!...Well that my dear, I really don't know. Though I don't think it was just this last time." Eric laughed as he held her close.

"Okay...but it probably didn't hurt." Ariel whispered as she snuggled close to her husband.

Eric chuckled again and drew her even closer, where they began to kiss, but then a servant knocked on their door interrupting them to let them know that it was time to start their day.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Time passed quickly for Ariel and Eric and eventually it was a few months later. Ariel was still trying to adjust to being a human and now a mother-to-be with a changing shape. Despite being emotional over suddenly becoming 'fat' and having to continually get new clothes as her baby grew, Ariel was still glad that Eric reassured her that he loved her now matter what her size.

One day Eric mentioned that one of his old friends from childhood and his wife were coming for a visit, so at that news Ariel suggested that they have a party to welcome them but she wasn't sure how to host a party on land. Eric told her that his friend wasn't into big parties, so maybe instead they should have an old traditional clambake instead, which Ariel thought sounded like fun.

That afternoon, Eric and Ariel took a walk along the beach with their dog Max. They walked along hand in hand until they got to the shore where Eric had washed up onto when Ariel had rescued him. When Ariel recognized the rock on which she'd sat after he'd walked away from the rescue, she laughed and told Eric about it's significance, so he asked her if she wanted to sit on it while he dug for clams. She happily agreed, and laughed as Eric helped her get to the rock and climb up on it.

Ariel was sitting on the rock, glancing periodically between the shore where Eric was digging for clams, and the sea where the sun was just starting to lower toward the horizon, when she suddenly her a splash from the other side of the rock and looked down.

"Hey Ariel there you are!"

"Urchin?"

"Yeah long time no see huh? Sebastian said you were gone...Anyway I'm glad I found you cos I found this great sunken ship you've gotta see, so come on so we can check it out..."

"Sorry Urchin...It's good to see you but I'm sorry I can't..."

"What'd you mean you can't? Come on..."

Suddenly Max came barking up to the rock and started to jump and growl at Urchin.

"Hey who's this? Good boy..."

"Down Max! Down! I'm sorry Urchin, he's just wary of strangers sometimes." Ariel proclaimed.

"So are you making friends with dogs now?" Urchin asked.

"Yeah Max is my dog...actually he's.."

"Come here Max you mutt..." Eric whistled from shore.

"Ariel who's that? So is that why you're here, you're watching that human guy? We better swim before he sees us...Come on Ariel..." Urchin asked.

"Sorry Urchin...too late...Anyway I can't come with you... "

"What'd ya mean? Do you know that guy?" Urchin asked.

"Yeah I know him. He's my...my husband!" Ariel replied.

"WHAT? You married a human? HOW?" Urchin said, astonished.

"Well, it wasn't difficult after this..." Ariel said as she lift her leg and foot around the rock to show Urchin.

"You're human now? I knew you liked human things, but this is insane. So you gave up all mermen for some dude with legs and a dick?" Urchin scowled.

"URCHIN?!" Ariel gasped.

"Well it's true! Judas! So how much does he pay you? Do you do it under the pier or a quick one against a wall? Does he?..." Urchin asked slyly.

"Pay me? Urchin you're disgusting! Where'd you learn that stuff?" Ariel gasped.

"So you don't get paid? Too bad for you. And where'd I learn it from? Let's just say I've made some friends down at the docks...some 'lovely ladies' so you could say..." Urchin laughed snidely.

Suddenly Eric came over with a bucket of clams to show Ariel, and he then noticed Urchin off to the side.

"Oh hi, are you another one of Ariel's friends too?" Eric asked.

"Ha you could say that!" Urchin growled.

"Yes...uh Urchin this is Eric, my husband. And Eric, this is Urchin..." Ariel said.

"Her boyfriend! " Urchin growled.

"Boyfriend?" Eric asked, slightly amused.

"Urchin you were never my boyfriend!" Ariel gasped.

"Could've fooled me!" Urchin huffed.

"You were a boy and you were my friend, but you were never my boyfriend! You were more like a little brother to me." Ariel retorted.

"Little brother? Hmmph!" Urchin sulked.

"I'm sorry if I made you think otherwise Urchin." Ariel apologized.

"I go off for a few years on a quest, then come back and you're married to a human. Or is it like that time with Prince Thor?" Urchin grumbled.

"No, I chose Eric, it wasn't prearranged! Do you really think daddy would have arranged a marriage between me and a human when I was a baby?" Ariel exclaimed.

"Speaking of kids...why are you so fat?" Urchin asked.

"Well I'm pregnant!" Ariel admitted.

"Ha I knew it! Having a human baby, sheez! Well someday I'll come back for your first born!" Urchin exclaimed.

"WHAT?!" Ariel gasped.

"Well it's nice to meet you anyway, Urchin is it?" Eric asked, trying to play peacemaker.

"Yeah, nice to meet you Eric." Urchin reluctantly said as he shook Eric's hand. Urchin then sided off to sulk alone.

"So Ariel what's the story with this kid? Here let me help you get down from there." Eric asked, as he whispered in her ear and helped her off the rock.

"Ha ha, thank you Eric! Well a few years ago Flounder and I found Urchin living alone in a cave. He'd joined the Lobster mobster's mob for a bit, but we were able to talk him out of that and into living at the castle. He was just another friend, although I should've guessed he was a bit jealous after that incident where he'd thought my father had arranged a marriage between myself and a merman named Prince Thor. He even went so far as to start a war, which fortunately didn't last long." Ariel explained to Eric.

"A war? Well we certainly don't need that. Uh I hope your friend will be okay. " Eric commented.

"Ah I hope so too. Urchin's a resilient guy, he should be able to bounce back...I hope." Ariel replied.

"He can join the clambake if he wants to..." Eric suggested.

"Oh yes that sounds like a brilliant idea! Thank you Eric!" Ariel exclaimed, then turned around and shouted back to Urchin "Hey Urchin, do you want to join us for our clambake on the beach! Come on, it'll be fun!"

"What? You're eating clams now too? Cannibal! Uh later Ariel, I'm going off to see if I can find anymore old friends who're willing to go where I want to go...and are not a Judas! Remember first born..." Urchin exclaimed as he swam off.

"Rumpelstiltskin!" Ariel exclaimed as he swam away.

"Woah he's quite the kid! Okay hon calm down, let's go back to the beach and dig the pit for the clams, before Max eats them all!" Eric soothingly joked.

"Okay thanks yeah let's go. Ooh I can't believe what he said! Can he really take our first born?" Ariel asked.

"Eay I doubt it. Okay you sit here while I dig the pit." Eric said as he plopped her down on the sand.

Ariel spread out a blanket on the beach and then settled herself down on it, to watch Eric and pet their dog Max.

"So you really are spirited when it comes to your friends, hmmm?" Eric asked as he continued to dig.

"Oh Urchin is in a class by himself! I can't believe what he said! Can he really take away our firstborn like he said? Like Rumpelstiltskin?" Ariel asked as she clutched at her unborn child.

"Oh as I said before, I doubt it...but then again who knows? So what Urchin said about cannibalism in reference to clams, what was that about?" Eric asked.

"Oh that? Well generally merpeople don't eat what you term as seafood, like fish, cabs, and clams...but anymore I don't care! I'm still a bit wary when it comes to fish and crabs...but clams I don't care, they were always big gossips anyway." Ariel said as she lay back on the blanket in exasperation.

"Oh really? Big gossips you say? Ha ha okay tell me what the ones in that pail are saying!" Eric joked as he pointed to a pail of clams just off of the blanket.

"Okay let me try." Ariel said as she picked up a clamshell and held it to her ear.

"Ooh Ariel is gonna eat us...Just like the walrus who knew Alice...goo-goo-ga-joob" the clams said.

"Oh shut up you!" Ariel said as she threw the clam back in the pail.

"Ha ha hey don't lose your temper Ariel. So you didn't like what he had to say?" Eric jokingly asked.

"No...erggh!" Ariel pouted.

"Oh poor girl! Ah it's not so bad...Here you can help me put the clams in the pit I dug then we'll cover them with some seaweed, driftwood, etc. and let 'em smoke a bit until they're done. You'll like it then, okay?" Eric said reassuringly.

"Okay that sounds cool." Ariel said as she followed him over to the pit where they'd bake the clams.

The couple set up their clams in the pit, then walked back to their blanket while they relaxed and chatted awhile, while they waited for the clams to bake and their guests to arrive.

After awhile, Eric and Ariel heard voices coming up over a sand bluff on their beach, so Eric helped Ariel stand up, and together they walked on to greet their guests.

The first couple to arrive were a tall broad, sandy colored haired man and his small brunette haired wife. Eric ran up and shook his hand then slapped him on the back and said

"Oh Adam old friend, it's good to see you after all these years! I'd heard tales about you, that you'd changed, but it looks like it's all for the better..."

"I had...but I'm the man I am today I owe it all to my wife, my little beauty here, Belle..." Adam said.

"Oh you were right there, pleased to meet you Belle." Eric said as he extended his hand in greeting.

"Pleased to meet you too, Prince..." Belle asked.

"Eric...uh sorry I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Prince Eric and this is my lovely wife Ariel." Eric said.

"Hello then, well you do have a lovely beach...my husband was telling me a bit about it...though only a bit." Belle said.

"Hey I'm sorry I was a bit vague..." Adam asked.

"That's fine dear." Belle reassured him.

"Eric I see you've acquired a wife yourself..." Adam said.

"That I have! Adam, Belle, meet my little songstress and wife, Ariel." Eric introduced.

"Pleased to meet you, Ariel." they said as they greeted her.

"Songstress you say? Why miss Ariel you'll have to grace us with a tune or two!" Belle said.

"Well I'll have to see what I can do then!" Ariel said.

"A clambake and a song sounds good to me." Adam said.

"Oh yes we're going to have a clambake and other entertainment." Ariel said.

"Other entertainment? Well maybe Belle her can grace us with one of her stories, couldn't you dear?' Adam said.

"Oh I think I could think of something fine." Belle said.

The couples then broke off to chat. Eric and Adam chatted a while near the clambake pit, while Ariel and Belle chatted and set up the picnic. After a while more people arrived, and Adam came over, whispered something to Belle, which she commented on, then sauntered off to snooze near a bluff.

"So he's going to go take a nap?" Ariel asked Belle.

"Yes, he asked me if it was fine with me if he took a nap for a while and I said it was. He was up all night." Belle said.

"Up all night? Hmm, do you have anything to do with that?" Ariel asked slyly.

"Oh no, ha ha, nothing like that. It was storming recently around our way and my dear husband was up on the roof all night repairing the leaks. He deserves his rest." Belle said.

"Your husband repairs the leaks on your home himself?" Ariel asked.

"Oh yes, he's a very resourceful man frugal too. Plus he often doesn't have much patience for other people, so he tries to do what he can on his own. I certainly help too, I'm willing to pitch in where needed." Belle said.

"Oh that's good. My husband's the same way, especially when it comes to sailing. He'll pilot the wheel if necessary, especially in a storm. His heroism and kindness is what made me fall for him, plus he's not bad to look at too! He he that's actually what attracted me first...So what attracted you to your husband, as if I can't guess..." Ariel giggled.

"Well yeah Adam's good looking now, but he wasn't always that way. When I first met him, his appearance wasn't what I'd call attractive...but after a while I could see past that to his heart. See that despite his rough exterior, he was a good man inside." Belle said.

"Rough exterior? What did he need a haircut or something? Oh don't tell me you were that you were that merchant's daughter who was engaged to this guy who'd made a deal with the devil and had to wear a bearskin for seven years? If so, boy you were lucky he cleaned up well!" Ariel exclaimed.

"Bearskin? Ha ha, no not quite...though you are very close. No it was a bit more dramatic than that...though let's just say it was my love that transformed him...And yes I did luck out in the end, since he isn't bad to look at now, I agree. Though he can still act like a beast sometime even now." Belle laughed.

"A beast? Ha ha yeah I guess all guys are like that sometimes. Yeah Eric doesn't always pick up after himself and sometimes he snores when he's asleep...but then again he says I do too!" Ariel laughed.

"Well it was a bit more than snoring and not picking up after himself...but yeah that was part it." Belle mused.

Belle and Ariel continued to chat, until some of the other guests came around and Eric said that the clambake was finished. Ariel joined Eric, and the couples gathered for the food and blessing, then began to eat in groups.

After the meal and conversations, Ariel was prompted to sing a song, and Belle retold a tale she had recently read before coming there. Others gave recitations, sang songs, played instruments and so forth, a good time for all.

Later that evening, one of the other guests, Prince Christian, was talking with Eric and Ariel and mentioned something very interesting.

"Eric your wife is a delight, like a breath of fresh air...though she reminds me of someone I knew once...Does she have any relatives nearby?" Christian asked.

"Well Ariel's relatives do live not that far away, relatively speaking...though I doubt you would've met any of them...unless you were ever shipwrecked..." Eric joked.

"Well actually I was shipwrecked once, but unless your Ariel or her relatives attended the St. Sebastian Convent, I doubt I would've met them..." Christian said.

"Saint Sebastian's you say? Ha ha...close but not quite." Eric laughed.

"Well anyway...hey I know who she reminded me of! Your wife has the same ethereal qualities as this girl who was once my ward. Yes several years ago, before I married my wife Richelle, there was this little waif I found on the steps of my castle. The girl was a pretty thing, with long strawberry blond hair but must've been only about 12 or 13 at my best guess, and must have washed up from a shipwreck. She was a fun tag along to have around, and I think she may have had a crush on me...ah teenage girls...but the only drawback was that she must've been a mute or something because I kept her at the castle for almost a year, to let her grow up a bit, but still she never spoke to me. Anyway the last I saw of her, I'd taken her along to the next monarchy because I was supposed to marry Richelle...and well during the trip she just disappeared! My squire claimed he'd seen her board the ship that evening, but by the next morning she was gone. We all feared the worst, that she'd jumped ship, and I suppose she did...although we never did find her body. I regret that I couldn't help her sooner and that she had to resort to that, I would've set her up well...even let her marry the squire's son, if she'd wanted to...but no." Christian sighed.

"Oh my that is quite the story, Christian...Did you ever try to?...Uh you've got to tell your story to my wife...Oh Ariel, some here for a moment, you have to hear Prince Christian's story." Eric called.

"Okay hon, I'm coming over. Is it a good story?" Ariel asked as she walked over to him.

"Well it's quite the tale indeed, just be careful with the questions you might be tempted to ask as he tells it." Eric whispered to in her ear.

"Oh okay. Hello Prince Christian is it?" Ariel asked, extending her hand in greeting.

"Oh yes, pleased to meet you too Ariel. Well I was just telling Eric about how you reminded of this girl I once knew..." Christian said as he went on to recant the story he'd just told Eric.

By the end of the story Ariel just gasped and stared, then said "Oh that poor, poor girl! Why did she ever do that? I'm sure she loved you...but why the extreme step? Oh I know, she didn't wanna belong to the sea witch, so she ended it all...Why? The poor little mer-maid..." as she sobbed.

"Yes the poor little maid...Shh, Ariel, calm down...It's all in the past..." Eric tried to soothe her.

"Sea Witch?" Christian asked, a bit perplexed.

"Sorry Christian, my wife becomes easily emotional, especially since she's pregnant now." Eric apologized.

"Oh yes I should have known, pregnancy can make wives emotional, I should know! I'm sorry if my story upset you ma'am, although it was true." Christian said.

"It is fine Prince Christian because ye knew not what ye did..." Ariel cried out as Eric led her off to the side to calm her down.

They walked over to a bluff, away from the other guests, when suddenly Ariel turned to Eric and said with tears in her eyes, "Oh Eric how could they do that? How could he not even consider marrying her? But more importantly, how could that other little mermaid take such a drastic step? Nothing is worth suicide...even an evil sea witch!"

"Well honey there are some things we will probably never know..." Eric said soothingly.

"...Nothing is worth suicide, I tell you! She should have just told her father how she felt...even if he was a bit strict sometimes but he may have been a bit more understanding than she gave him credit for. Oh she should've just told him the truth in the first place and then she may not have had to resort to consulting the sea witch and being bound to her restrictions..." Ariel grieved.

"Ah calm down dear, what's done is done. Still what you said about her consulting her father first...hmm interesting observation, coming from you, Ariel." Eric admitted a bit amused.

"Well I guess I realized that better late than never." Ariel laughed through her tears.

"Yeah I guess we all have our lessons to learn. Ha a laugh..Ah yeah that's more like the girl I know and love. Hmm..." he said as he gave her a hug and kissed her forehead.

"Ah love, you know just what I need, thank you. Yeah I knew as soon as I saw you I wanted to be a part of your world..." Ariel said as she wrapped her her arms around Eric and hugged her husband back.

"Oh really? Hmmm..." he said huskily.

"Oh yeah, I knew even an ocean couldn't keep us apart...I just knew you were for me..." she said huskily.

"Hmmm..." Eric said as he stared down at her upturned face and then brought their lips together in a kiss that made their senses rise, until one of their servants interrupted them, reminding them of their party guests. The couple chuckled quietly and walked arm in arm back to the party together, just in time for the fireworks display that evening.

After the fireworks display, Eric and Ariel invited all of their guests to spend the night at their castle since they had so much room, so their various guests spent the night.

The next morning, Ariel was walking down the hall on her way to breakfast, when she saw Belle standing by a window, staring at something in the distance. Ariel approached her in greeting and was curious to see what Belle was staring at.

"Hello Belle do you see something interesting along the shore?" Ariel asked curiously.

"I should say so! I didn't know you and your husband deal in Negroes?" Belle said in disgust.

"What do you mean?' Ariel asked.

"Do you see those men down there by the docks, loading crates and so forth?" Belle said as she pointed out the window at the men in the distance.

"Oh yes the dark-skinned men who loan the goods. What about them?" Ariel asked.

"Well they might be slaves, though it's difficult to tell from this distance. Nonetheless, slavery is an abomination to the laws of God and man." Belle declared.

"Slavery, what is that?" Ariel asked curiously.

"What is slavery? Oh you were a sheltered one indeed! Slavery is the trafficking of human souls for the fortunes of the rich. Empires built on the backs of oppressed peoples from the darkest regions of the world. A sad business indeed and one that is slowly being defeated. You should read the writings of William Wilberforce and Hannah Moore to learn more about it." Belle exclaimed.

"Trafficking of human souls? William Wilberforce?" Ariel asked, bit perplexed.

"Trafficking is the sale and transport of something, in this case people. Oh yes these poor people are forced from their homes in Africa and are usually transported by ship to islands in the New World whilst in chains, to become slaves for the rich! Some even die on the way over and are just tossed overboard, dreadful indeed!" Belle proclaimed.

"Pitched overboard?...Oh my...the 'ones-we-could-not-save'..." Ariel gasped, her voice trailing off in thought.

Belle obviously had not caught Ariel's previous statement, as she went on to say, "I've been secretly communicating with William Wilberforce and Hannah Moore in an effort to end slavery in the France as well, but so far nothing has come about it. I've become a regular bluestocking, but only in secret thus far. Yes Ariel, there is so much to be done for the betterment of mankind, and we must act now! Unfortunately I can't go any further in my crusade at this time... "

"But why not? Ariel asked surmised.

"Well unfortunately conflict has broken out in France at the moment, so I must suspend communications with the abolitionist groups, for the time being, and travel to the New World to escape the rebellion. Still, I must give you the writings to read over yourself." Belle said as she handed Ariel a few sheaves of paper.

Suddenly a servant came around to tell the two women that breakfast was served, so they went to the dining room and sat down beside their husbands to eat the meal. Ariel stored the information in her memory as she went on to enjoy her guests and their lively conversations.

Later as Eric and Ariel stood on their castle steps to wish their guests farewell, Eric turned to his wife and told her, a bit excitedly, "Ah dear Ariel do you remember how you once asked me if we were ever going to travel anywhere else in the world?'

"Yes I believe so.." she replied.

"Well dear I need to visit of our country's landholdings in the Carabbean, so I thought to take you along if you do not mind. We'll make a holiday of it, does that sound good to you?" Eric said huskily.

"Oh yes that sounds fine. When do we leave?" she asked.

"In only a few days darling, only a few days." Eric said as he held her close.

A few days later Ariel and Eric set sail in their ship and traveled on. For most of the voyage, the trip was uneventful and void of most of the perils most ships are subjected to on transatlantic voyages.

Finally after a few weeks, the ship docked in the harbor of one of the Danish Virgin Islands, where they disembarked and were soon whisked off to a castle-like mansion which was perched along a cliff over looking the shore. The royal couple were delighted with their accommodations and had a lovely tour of the house and the kingdom there.

After a few days, Eric had a meeting with a number of officials, while Ariel met a few people in the village and was surprised how much they reminded her of human versions of Sebastian, although most of them had dark skin, similar to the people Belle had called slaves, but most of the people she saw seemed happy and sang while they worked.

The next morning, Ariel sat on the window sill and stared out the window, listening to the song she could hear faintly in the distance. A song about bananas, a tally-man, and a tarantula could be heard drifting faintly over the warm Caribbean breeze, as Ariel sat listening and Eric came over to ask her what she was doing.

"So what are you up to Ariel, dear?" Eric asked as he glanced down at her with hooded eyes.

"Oh I'm just listening to the banana men..." Ariel said wistfully.

"Banana men eay?" Eric asked amused.

"Yeah don't you hear the song? 'six foot seven foot eight foot bunch ... Daylight come an' me wanna go home..' He he they sort of remind me of Sebastian, somehow..." Ariel quoted.

"Oh you got that about right." Eric laughed.

"One question though, Eric. Are those men who bring the bananas, are they slaves?" Ariel asked naively.

"Well what a question to ask. Actually Ariel unfortunately I think you're right. I'm sure a few of them are slaves. Its just a part of society, unfortunately enough." Eric replied.

"But why, Eric? Why is that so?" Ariel asked curiously.

"Well with the way society functions..." Eric began as he went on to explain the tiers of society in the human world and what everyone's place in it, which was usually determined by birth, lineage, and so forth.

"But why does that have to be so, Eric?" Ariel asked.

"Well even though it doesn't have to be, I agree, it's just not that easy to change things...at least peacefully..." Eric admitted as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Well I was reading this article from William Wilberforce about the slave trade and he briefly described something I think I've seen before, or at least heard about when I was younger..." Ariel said.

"I don't think you should be worrying about that...erm What did you mean about when you were younger?" Eric asked.

"Well when I was still a young mermaid I heard tales of the 'ones-we-couldn't-save'...humans who were sent overboard from floating ships but didn't survive. Sometimes they were wrapped in blankets, and those we figured must've been ill or injured...but the dark-skinned ones with chains, they were ones no one talked of in public. Now I fear..." Ariel explained.

"Yes you were probably right. Most likely they were slaves...sadly enough." Eric admitted.

"That's so sad...Hopefully I think of something to make life better for them." Ariel pondered.

"Well keep working on that idea today dear, and I'd like to hear what you've come up with later on...Right now I have another meeting delegate at." Eric said as he held her and kissed her on the forehead.

"All right I will, thank you. I will come up with something, thank you. " Ariel said as she hugged him back.

"You're welcome! See you later dear...I'll miss you." Eric said as he walked out the room.

"Goodbye Eric, I'll see you later...Now for my idea.." Ariel said as she pondered her thought.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ariel dressed then left the mansion to walk down toward the dock to talk with the workers and get a true insight on the slavery issue from a first hand account. She felt that to learn first hand the experiences people had, would better help her to understand what would best serve the people.

She strode along quickly through the side streets and avenues, thankful that she'd decided to wear less formal attire so as not to attract too much attention to her real station. As she approached the docks and piers in the bay, Ariel noticed that another new ship had arrived in port and were currently allowing passengers to disembark from it's above decks.

As she watched the few passengers disembark, Ariel happened to notice a young woman about her age step lightly down the gangplank and onto the deck. The young woman was wearing a long cloak with a hood, and when she stepped on deck, she let the hood fall back, allowing her long, dark hair flow in the breeze as she turned back toward the ship and shouted something to someone still on the ship. When the lady turned around once more, Ariel gasped and looked from the young woman to the name of the ship. "The Witch," the ship had painted on its hull, and as Ariel glanced quickly from the woman to the ship, her heart started to beat faster in fear and her anger started to boil. All of her fears were realized , because the young lady looked startlingly like Ursula's human form, Vanessa! The one who'd tried to marry Eric earlier!

Without thinking, Ariel ran up to the woman and began confronting her, in front of everyone.

"What are you doing here? I can't believe that you came back!"

Startled, the woman said "Ma'am I have no idea what you're talking about..."

"Oh you know, Vanessa, Ursula...or whatever your name is now!" Ariel shouted.

"You must have me mistaken for someone else...my name is K..." the woman said.

"I don't care what you're calling yourself now...you'll always be the same...witch!" Ariel seethed.

"What?! You're not related to Goody..." the woman seethed.

"...And you can't have Eric, or me either..." Ariel snarled as she shoved the woman off the edge of the deck and into the water.

"I'm NOT a WITCH...AAAHHH..." the woman screamed as the fell off the deck with a splash.

The sudden shift in her weight also caused Ariel to lose her balance and she fell off the deck and into the bay as well.

The other woman continued to rant and began to say again, "I'm tired of people mistaking me for a witch! First the people in the colony, and now you!"

"Colony? Well you can't have my voice again...Aaahh..." Ariel said as she struggled to swim toward the other woman to try to get at her, but momentarily forgetting that she was now human, she tried to dive underwater and instead came up sputtering.

Noticing Ariel's struggle, the other woman swam over to her and attempted to keep her afloat, as she said with a chuckle "Ha ha, oh can't you swim? Here let me help you, even though you attacked me..."

"I was born swimming! I...aah..." Ariel said as she continued to struggle a bit.

"Yeah and I was born a mermaid...ha ha" the woman joked.

"Actually I was born a..." Ariel burbled.

"Save your breath..." the woman said, as one of the sailors from her ship reached down and pulled both women back up on the dock.

Suddenly, a sandy haired younger man in a captain's jacket came up to embrace the brunette woman, as she said to him "Oh Nat I'm so glad you're here."

"Of course I'm here love...So what happened to you now, Kit?" Nat said to her as he pushed her wet hair out of her eyes.

Suddenly some officials came over and helped Ariel to her feet and then one of them asked "All right ladies, I see we have a disturbance here and I'd like to get to the bottom of it, or else I'll have to take you both in to the station."

"Arrest that woman officer, by royal decree. She's out to get my husband and I!" Ariel exclaimed.

"What? I don't even know her! MY husband and I just arrived here on our ship. " Kit exclaimed.

"Is that true?" the officer asked.

"Yes tis true, officer. I'm Nathaniel Eaton captain of this ship, and this is my wife..." Nat attempted to explain.

"That woman is a witch I tell you! And we definitely have a past..." Ariel exclaimed.

"I AM NOT A WITCH! You aren't related to Goody Cruff, are you?" Kit exclaimed.

"I have no idea who you're talking about, Vanessula!" Ariel said smugly.

"Vanessula?" Kit asked, perplexed, then turned to the officer "Officer, my name is Katherine Tyler Eaton, granddaughter of Francis Tyler of Barbados, wife of Captain Nathaniel Eaton lately of Saybrook, Massachusetts. My husband I just arrived here to drop off cargo and are on our way to spend the winter in Barbados. You can check the ship's log to see that it is true."

"That sounds fine ma'am, I will check into it soon. Still though what was the reason for the quarrel?" the officer asked.

"I have no idea! That woman attacked me without provocation! I had just stepped onto the dock and had turned to walk into town, when this woman proceeded to attack me, calling me of all things a witch, which I despise!" Kit explained rather gruffly at the end.

"Have you ever been accused of witchcraft before, ma'am?" the officer asked.

"Katherine Eaton? So you're not Ursula the sea witch? What about your boat?" Ariel asked curiously.

"Well..." Kit stammered.

"To answer the questions from both of you, let's just say that my wife had a misunderstanding with some of the members of her family's Puritan colony, Wethersfield, up in Massachusetts, however she was proved not guilty. I gave my ship that name as a personal joke between my wife and I. I apologize if it caused some confusion." Nat explained.

"Oh...so you're not really a witch?" Ariel asked cautiously.

"Of course not!" Kit exclaimed.

"Oh I'm so sorry..." Ariel apologized.

"So ma'am you're not going to press charges?" the officer asked.

"No..." Ariel whispered and hung her head in shame.

"And you ma'am?" the officer said as he turned to Kit and Nat.

"No, I don't think so. I've had grace bestowed on me in my past, so it is only right that accept her apology." Kit said graciously.

"Thank you ma'am and I am truly sorry." Ariel apologized once more.

Suddenly Eric and some of the royal guards came into view and he heard just the end of Ariel's apology.

"Ah Ariel, I heard about some conflict down at the docks and I worried a bit about you, knowing how curious you are about everything. I'm glad to see you're safe, but what are you apologizing for?" Eric asked.

"Oh Eric I mistook this lady, Katherine, for...well you know, Ursula..." Ariel said quietly.

"Ursula?" Eric asked.

"Or Vanessa...Don't you see it?" Ariel said to him, her voice low.

"Oh, ha ha...Yeah I do see it...but dear you can't be mistaking other women for her. Ursula's gone, don't you remember. Oh I can only imagine what she thought when you told her what you thought..." Eric said.

"Well I did more than just tell her..." Ariel admitted.

"Oh dear..." Eric said, then turned to the other couple "I'm sorry for whatever my wife may have said or done to you ma'am..."

"Well thank for your apology sir, but my wife has already accepted your wife's apology. My name is Nat Eaton and this is my wife Kit." Nat said.

"Pleased to meet you Nat, Kit. If you haven't already guessed I'm Eric, and this is my lovely, though presumptuous wife, Ariel." Eric said as he extended his hand in greeting.

"Pleased to meet you, Eric and Ariel...hmmm your names seem familiar. You don't happen to be...?" Kit questioned aloud.

"To your question ma'am, yes I happen to be prince of this land as well as our kingdom back in Europe..." Eric started to explain.

"Oh my, your majesty." Kit started to bow, as Nat held her shoulder.

"Oh you don't have to go so far. You both are invited back to our place for refreshments...Is that fine, Eric?" Ariel said.

"Oh yes it's fine they are welcome to visit during their stay on the island." Eric said.

"Oh thank you, you're too kind." Kit and Nat replied.

"Oh it's nothing. And maybe then I can finally hear all of the story about what happened here today." Eric said.

Both couples walked over to the royal carriage, where they rode together back to Eric and Ariel's seaside mansion on the hill.

After arriving back at the mansion and having refreshments of various local fruits and other foods, Eric listened as Ariel and the Eatons went on to explain more fully exactly what had happened back at the dock. Eric chided Ariel a bit over her impulsiveness in her attack of Kit, then attempted to apologize again for his wife's impulsive outburst, explaining that she'd only been royalty for a short while thus far.

Nat and Kit then went on to explain their past, how they met, where they live now, and why Kit reacted the way she did when Ariel had first called her a witch. They even explained about Hannah Tupper and how she now lived in the seaside village of Saybrook, where Nat's grandmother lived, and even went on to tell how they wished they could adopt little Prudence just because of how her mother, Goody Cruff treated her.

Ariel and Eric listened intently to their guests' story, then went on to vaguely tell the story of how they met, although they knew some of it would seem a bit unbelievable to Kit and Nat. Still though they accepted what they wanted and accorded the rest of it to the fanciful lives of royalty.

After awhile Eric and Nat broke off to swap sailor tales, while Ariel and Kit got into a conversation about being young wives, until Ariel asked Kit about her opinion about slavery, which caused their conversation to turn political.

"Kit, you've traveled to different places far and wide, so I must ask, what is your opinion on the idea of slavery?" Ariel asked.

"Oh my that's quite the topic...Are you and your husband considering the business of slave trade?" Kit asked, a bit surprised.

"No...I'm just curious about others' opinions on the matter." Ariel replied.

"Oh that's good, although it is a lucrative business...still...Well from personal experience I've actually seen opinion on both sides. No I was never a slave...although during the year I lived with my relatives in Wethersfield I had times in which I could sympathize with a slave...but never mind that. Anyway, when I grew up in Barbados with my grandfather, slavery was a part of life. Not only did my grandfather own a number of slaves, but I had my own personal nanny who was a slave. She was kind and took care of me well after my parents passed on. Then, after grandfather passed on and his plantation was seized by creditors, I had to move to Wethersfield to live with my aunt and uncle and their daughters, who are close to my age. Wethersfield was certainly an adjustment after growing up in Barbados, its much colder at times and the type of dress the community members wear is quite different...still though I found some happiness there after a time. Nonetheless I learned much during my time there, not only that my uncle is a patriot of sorts, but also the negative aspects of slavery, which you've probably heard of...the conditions in the holds, the chains, yes?" Kit stated.

"Oh yes its terrible how humans can chain each other in bondage like that, forced to work without getting paid..." Ariel went on to say.

"Bondage isn't always with chains, Ariel. Bondage can also be through emotional repression, shared ideas and phobias, or being denied an education along with many other rights...Why there were people in Wethersfield who were denying an education for their daughter just because they thought that she was slow or that her time was better spent on chores. I went against the grain in the colony and taught her on the sly and even had the girl befriend an elderly lady who was also misunderstood. Unfortunately it caused some grief for the lady and girl...by the girl's own family no less...but I'm still glad I did it. In the end it worked out...so the moral of the story is that if you want to see changes in your community you just have to try even a little step at a time. My goodness you're royalty so you could really enact changes, but even you are only one person and so it would take much to rid the world of the industry, and too much of a change could create a revolt...so just take it one step at a time. Try with something little, like education. I don't know how to say it...other than...just don't give up, you never know what could happen!" Kit said impassionately.

"You gave me much to think about Kit...Do something little bit at a time, like education...I like that. But how do I start? Where do I start?" Ariel pondered.

"The best way I could think of is to visit the community, see what their needs and concerns are, and then go from there. Meet people, hear what they have to say, then when you see a need be proactive and take care of it...One life impacted is one more life saved." Kit said impassionately, then went on to jokingly say "...Just some advice though, when you meet new people don't jump to conclusions and push them off the pier, okay?"

"Oh I won't do that again, promise! I'm sorry I did that to you Kit, I don't know what got into me! Its just you reminded me so much of Vanessa that I just reacted the way I did...I'm really sorry..." Ariel apologized again.

"Thats fine Ariel, hey I know how you feel. I suppose if I ever met up with anyone who resembled Goodwife Cruff, I don't know how I would react either, ha ha...although seriously we shouldn't seek vengeance because as the Bible says "Vengeance is mine saith the Lord." or something like that." Kit said.

"Oh really does the Bible really say that?" Ariel asked.

"Oh yes, that and much more. Living in a Puritan community for a year, you can't help but pick up something from the Bible from time to time. If you have a Bible, I'll show you more interesting places, if you want to read them for yourself." Kit said.

"Oh I think we have one here. I'll fetch it if I can." Ariel said as she went off to find a copy of the Bible. When she came back, Kit showed her the various verses she was talking about, then went on to a few other areas. After their Bible study, Ariel and Kit's conversation eventually turned to children and other matters, until their husbands came back looking for food. Eventually the couples had dinner, and then retired to their rooms for the night. All that night Ariel contemplated some of the things Kit had told her abut starting small and going from there.

The next week, Ariel ventured down to the shanty towns incognito. She did it in secret as much as possible, so as to not to raise the suspicions of the others on the island, her guards, and especially not her husband. When she arrived in the areas where the poorest lived, carrying a basket of food and medicine, Ariel always found time and opportunity to speak with the women and children in the area. From that brief interaction almost every day, Ariel was able to better understand the people's needs. Apart from the medical and nutritional needs, the people also had a thirst for education. Even though she had just fully learned to read the language of Eric's people, apart from just Atlantian, Ariel remembered what both Kit and Belle had told her about seeing a need and fulfilling it. Thus she was inspired to bring a book along with her visits with the poor.

As she went to visit Ariel also began to help people with their health care issues as well. Sometimes she saw that there were children alone in their cottages, with no one to care for them or perhaps their mother was ill, so Ariel stayed to help the people, despite their condition. She actually enjoyed this work and served the people as long as she could, but then after a few months Eric decided that it was time to return to their home kingdom, so they left on a ship that took several weeks to arrive home. Ariel continued to communicate with the people she'd met in the islands in concern of the slavery issue and other conditions, even as she prepared for the birth of her first child.

One night Ariel was relaxing and getting ready for bed, when she saw that the light in Eric's office was still on, so she decided to visit him. Ariel padded across the floor nearly silent in bare feet as she reached Eric, who was bent over a stack of papers which he was reading. When she placed her hands on his shoulders, he jumped in surprise.

"Oh Ariel is that you dear?" Eric said in surprise.

"Of course dear, did I scare you? I'm sorry." Ariel said as she began kneading his shoulders.

"Oh you're forgiven...Ah..." Eric sighed.

"So what are you working on?" Ariel said as she continued her massage.

"Oh just reviewing some paperwork...Ah that hits the spot...now the other shoulder..." Eric sighed.

"Aw my big strong man gets a crick in his shoulders over paperwork, hmm?" Ariel teased and she continued to knead his shoulders.

"Hmmm...Well I was helping load the ship today...Hmmm...You spoil me dear..." Eric growled and relaxed in his chair.

"Spoil you? Ah I guess so...Well I've nearly put you to sleep...so now it's my turn." Ariel laughed as she stopped and stood beside his chair.

"Aw why'd ya stop? Oh yeah, how are you doing? How's the baby?" Eric woke up and started to ask as he pulled his wife onto his lap.

"Oh it's still cooking, but I feel like a blowfish about ready to pop." Ariel sighed as she rested her hand on her stomach.

"A blowfish? Ha ha oh you and your fishy analogies! A well my little blowfish by the looks of it our little guppy looks about ready to hatch, hmm?" Eric teased as he rubbed her shoulders.

"Oh do you really think it's going to be a guppy? That's what I'm afraid of!" Ariel panicked.

"Aw I seriously doubt it dear. The baby will be a beautiful human baby, I'd imagine, no matter your past." Eric said matter of a factly as he massaged her shoulders.

"Oh I hope so! I'm so worried about that and other things..." Ariel sighed.

"Aw don't worry about it..." Eric soothed as he rubbed her shoulders and back.

"Thanks...Oh that feels good my back and shoulders have been feeling it lately. Why's that?" Ariel sighed.

"Well your back is because of the baby...but your shoulders are because of these..." Eric teased as he reached around and playfully grabbed at her breast.

"Hey what're you doing? He he...Oops now my shirt is wet sort of..." Ariel laughed, then gasped.

"Oh sorry about that...Ha ha...Oh don't worry about that, that's just how you'll feed the baby." Eric said as he reached in his pocket and gave her a handkerchief.

"Oh thanks Eric." Ariel said as she grabbed the handkerchief and began to wipe herself off.

"Do you need help with that?" Eric asked teasingly.

"Hmm...I think I can take care of myself, but thanks for volunteering to help..." Ariel said slyly bemused.

"Oh any time, any time..." Eric laughed, then began to kiss the back of her neck.

"Hmm...he he maybe I should leave before I distract you anymore." Ariel said jokingly as she began to leave.

"Naw I'm not gonna let you leave..." Eric playfully growled and pulled her back to him.

"Aw you're not?" Ariel said bemused.

"Nope. You're staying right here ...hmm.." Eric said as he pulled Ariel close and proceeded to kiss her.

They kissed for awhile savoring in each other's attentions, until Ariel pulled back and said.

"Hmm...that was fun, but Eric dear, I just remembered why I came here, other than to check on you."

"Okay why'd you come in here other than to sneak up on me?" Eric said bemused.

"Well I think I'm gonna have the baby!" Ariel exclaimed.

"Really?! Uh are you in pain? Oh what was I doing keeping you here?" Eric gasped.

"Oh it's not too bad so far just a few pains every little while. Plus anyway you said I'd be fine, so I will be...Oh urgh..." Ariel gasped as she struggled through a pain.

"Oh I should get you out of here!" Eric said.

"I think I can walk to the bedroom...Oh..Oh no what's that? Why am I all wet? Ew I must be turning into a mermaid again...and I'm bleeding?!" Ariel panicked.

"Oh hon calm down, your water broke, that's all...At least I hope so. Either way I'm carrying you out of here! " Eric said as he proceeded to pick Ariel up and carry her out of the room.

"Oh you'll ruin your clothes! You don't have to carry me..." Ariel bemoaned as she leaned against him.

"Aw don't worry about the clothes dear. They're replaceable, but you're not and neither is our baby so don't worry about it and just take of yourself coz you have a job to do now..." Eric exclaimed as he carried her away.

"A job to do?" Ariel asked.

"Yeah it's called giving birth." Eric said.

"Oh boy..." Ariel said sarcastically as Eric laid her on the bed.

Eric shook his head, then rushed to alert Carlotta and Ariel's other maids and ladies-in-waiting of Ariel impending delivery. The women then hurried to their jobs in the makeshift delivery room and shushed Eric out of the room for most of Ariel's labor of her baby.

After a while, Carlotta told Ariel that her baby had progressed pretty well, well enough that she would be "Pushing in no time."

"Really? How do know?" Ariel asked.

"Why I can just it a bit." Carlotta said.

"Really can I see it too?" Ariel asked.

"Sure, here ya go ma'am." Carlotta said as she handed her a mirror.

"Oh my ew what's that? It's a bit of dark hair down there?" Ariel gasped.

"Oh that's just your babe, dear don't ya see it's little head..." Carlotta exclaimed.

"Really? Oh maybe Eric should see! Yes get Eric in here, he should see it too!" Ariel exclaimed.

"All right but it's usually not done...having the father in the birthing room...but if you want him in here." Carlotta proclaimed.

"Yes please Carlotta...I want my husband here to be with me" Ariel insisted.

So Carlotta brought Eric in, explaining how Ariel wanted him in there to share the birth. One of the other ladies gave her opinion of Ariel birthing process thus far, to even go far as suggesting that they give her opium to relieve her pain.

To that Eric replied, with disgust "No opium, and that's final!"

Eric then went to Ariel's beside and thus was with her when she gave birth to their first child, a daughter they named Melody. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Soon after Melody's birth, Ariel and Eric took their daughter on a ship about a mile out to sea to meet her grandfather, King Triton. As Triton rose out of the sea to see his human granddaughter Melody and to give her a magical locket, Ursula's sister Morgana suddenly came, captured the baby and threatened to feed it to her pet shark. Suddenly, Ariel drew her husband's ceremonial sword and used it to cut the boom mast, knocking Morgana off her perch and causing her to release the baby, which Eric quickly rescued by swinging on a rope.

After Morgana cackled, declaring that they hadn't seen the last of her, and Triton sent his guards to search the ocean to find Morgana, Ariel looked over the side of the ship and noticed a familiar face off to the side.

"Urchin what are you doing here?"

"Ha ha ha, the shark almost ate your baby." Urchin laughed snidely.

"That wasn't funny Urchin! Why are you laughing? And anyway how did Morgana know where to find us?" Ariel asked.

"I told her. Ha I figured if I couldn't have you, then I'd take your first born, remember?" Urchin sneered.

"Oh, yes I remember now...Oh but why? My baby almost became shark chow, how would you have gotten her then?" Ariel questioned.

"Ah I would've saved her, just in the nick of time." he said.

"I'm sure you would." she said sarcastically.

"I too would have. Well if you don't believe me, then fine, suit yourself." Urchin said as he skulked away.

"I'm sorry Urchin it's just...okay fine...but take care." Ariel said as Eric came up to her.

"So who were you talking to? Was that that Urchin kid?" Eric asked as he handed baby Melody back to Ariel.

"Yes dear, and unfortunately he claimed that he told Morgana about where we'd be, so that's why she attacked.

"Really? Oh, oh boy.." Eric said a bit glumly.

The couple sailed back to their castle, where they met with Triton on the shore, where he told them the unfortunate news that they couldn't find Morgana. Ariel then vowed that hey could never tell Melody that she was a mermaid or ever part of the sea, etc. Sadly then Ariel and Eric went up into their castle for the evening.

Later that evening, Eric and Ariel were talking about what to do next when Eric came up with an idea.

"Ariel dear, I think it would be best if we left our kingdom here and traveled back to our land holdings in the Caribbean. It might also be a way to avoid Morgana, for a time anyway." Eric suggested as he paced the floor.

"Yes dear that does sound good. Perhaps we can avoid Morgana that way, if we travel fast." Ariel replied.

"Fine then, I'll procure a ship that will leave first thing in the morning." Eric said as he tried to reassure his wife that all would work out.

The next morning, just before dawn, Eric, Ariel, and Melody boarded a ship that took them back to the Caribbean. Fortunately for them their journey went smoothly and they were able to arrive in the island after only a few weeks.

Ariel was glad to get back to her causes concerning eliminating the slave trade and thus she began to continue her previous efforts helping the community. One day, just after dawn, Ariel awoke to the sound of distant shouts. When she peered out the window she could see people heading toward town, so she donned a cloak and weeded her way toward the me lee. When she got there, she saw slaves and other servants and natives had taken over the official buildings and were staging a protest. She stood there stunned, holding her breath, when suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She gasped as she turned around, only to realize it was only her husband and a few guards.

"Oh Eric I'm glad you're here! Wh-what's going on here?"

"Shh hon not so loud. It's a slave revolt as I've feared. That's one of the reasons why we came here, to quell it, but its getting out of hand for our family anyway." Eric explained in hushed tones.

"But isn't it a good thing? The slaves achieving freedom?" Ariel asked.

"Yes I suppose, but right now its dangerous for us, so we must pack and flee immediately. Oh if it isn't one thing its another..." Eric said as he rushed Ariel toward their mansion.

"Out of da frying pan into da fire...ya I should know." a small familiar crab said at their feet.

"Sebastian? What are you doing here? We nearly tripped on you!" Ariel asked as she picked him up.

"Well I was just visiting some of me crab relatives down in Kingston town.." Sebastian explained.

"Okay that's fine...Come one Ariel we have to hurry...and just bring him along.." Eric said as he rushed his wife along.

They arrived back to their mansion, and Carlotta and some other servants helped them pack their belongings as they then boarded a ship sailing to New York City. Ariel held her baby as she watched the balmy shore of the Dutch Virgin Islands fade into the distance.

After another few weeks, the young royal family landed on the shores of the small city on Manhattan Island called New York City. To Ariel it was a wonder, though very crowded and noisy. They walked down Fisherman's wharf, which almost made her sick, until they got to some of the other side streets in their effort to procure a hotel for the next while.

As they were making their way down the street, the horse pulling the conveyance they rode in nearly shied and the driver had to yell to stop the team. The passengers of the carriage looked out the window and could see a middle aged man with slightly graying hair in a blue suit arguing with a woman with strawberry blond hair and in a aqua green gown, who was apologizing to the driver and the man. There was also a young girl with curly dark hair, wearing a school girl outfit.

"Giselle where are we? This isn't where you came from is it?" the man questioned.

"Well this was supposed to be New York. I thought when we went through the magic sewer hole we could skip across town.." the woman replied.

"Instead we skipped across time?" he said.

"Daddy look at all of the funny horses! Can I have one?" the little girl asked.

"S-sure Morgan...Uh no we've got to find out what's happening..." he said distractedly.

"Ooh daddy look we're all like cartoons now!" the little girl exclaimed.

"Cartoons? Oh yeah..." he said, as his voice trailed off.

Suddenly the carriage passengers exited their conveyance and glanced at the people on the street. When Carlotta saw the others on the street, she suddenly gasped and began to tremble. Ariel held her arm to comfort her.

"That's that's..." Carlotta began, trembling.

"Sh- Car calm down, what's wrong?" Arel asked soothingly.

"Ooh look daddy a real prince and princess!" the girl squealed.

"Yeah that's nice Morgan just don't bother them." her dad said, holding her back.

Suddenly the woman with the strawberry blond hair walked over to them, paced around them, then went over to Carlotta and took her hand.

"Hmm you remind me of someone, but I can't think of who...Have we met before? My name's Giselle..." Giselle said as she extended a hand in greeting.

"Giselle? Ooh oh my..you haven't aged a day..." Carlotta said as she gasped and started to faint.

"Carlotta woah hold on..Eric can you help me?" Ariel said as she attempted to steady the wilting Carlotta.

"Sure hon..here we go.." Eric said as he helped steady their maid.

"Hmmm...Carlotta...that reminds me of something..." Giselle pondered as she paced around in thought.

"Giselle come on we need to get out of these people's way before we bother them any farther..." the man sad as he pulled her away.

"No its no bother...why don't you and your family come along to the hotel we're going to." Eric said as he ushered them along.

When they got into the carriage, they made their introductions, then Robert asked what year it was, where someone replied "Why eighteen forty--"

"The 1840s? You took me to New York of the 1840s, Giselle?" Robert sulked.

"Oh poo it's not so bad dear. You said you wanted a trip Robert, and why it can be a history lesson for Morgan as well, right dear..." Giselle replied.

"Yeah yeah..." Robert replied, staring out the window.

The families arrived at he hotel and acquired a few rooms. After a while, Robert, Giselle, and Morgan went to the rooms that Eric & his family had reserved, where they all sat in the sitting room to chat. During their chat an interesting conversation arose.

"Hmm Carlotta you look so familiar, I feel like you've helped me in some way in the past...but you were years younger then. Have you ever been to Andelasia?" Giselle asked as she stirred her tea.

"So that's where they sent you..." she said to herself, then Carlotta answered" Well no deary, I've never been to Andelasia."

"Oh okay..though I feel like I know you...hmmm" Giselle pondered.

Meanwhile Morgan boldly asked Eric and Ariel about their lives, to which they told her their story as well as they could. When she asked about Eric's parents and he told her their names, Morgan squealed in delight and started babbling about how she was gong to have to tell her friends back home about meeting Prince Charming and Cinderella's kids.

At hearing that, Giselle grew quiet and very thoughtful. She walked off to the side and stared out the window, rubbing her forehead in an attempt to remember. When she noticed Carlotta approaching her, she drew her near a chair and asked her if they could speak.

"Uh Carlotta, something Morgan just said, plus you, and your employers, Prince Eric, Ariel, and even their baby are bringing back vague memories for me..."

"Memories? What type of memories deary?" Carlotta asked soothingly.

"Well it's from before Andelasia...before Prince Edward or Robert or anyone...if that's possible...I-I remember you younger helping me...and a baby, I think..and someone named Char? Does any of this make sense to you? Sometimes Robert thinks I need to see a shrink.. " Giselle panicked.

"Oh dear, nothing like that...You see a long time ago, maybe about twenty years or so ago, I helped a young woman named Giselle who gave birth to a baby boy. For whatever reason the prince claimed the baby as his son, and even went so far as making his wife believe that she'd given birth to him. The boy was so much like his father though, many thought that he truly was the father. That boy grew to be the young man you see over there, with a wife and family of his own now. He girl who'd given birth was never seen from again. Rumor had it that she was sent on a ship somewhere..." Carlotta explained.

"Oh oh my, yes...It's all coming back to me now...Oh Carlotta I think that WAS me...Oh and that's my son?" Giselle asked eagerly.

"It very well could be..." Carlotta said.

"I want to go talk to him..." Giselle said, rising from her chair.

"Okay let's...Better now than never..." Carlotta said.

When they got over to the others, Carlotta explained that she needed to talk to hem and that Giselle had a story to tell, hen she let Giselle begin.

"Well okay, this is all coming back to me now in bits and pieces so bear with me. A long time ago, before I lived in Andelasia and met Prince Edward and eventually Robert, lived in another kingdom, in another cottage. While there one day I met a prince who I called Char. My relationship with Char was at friends at first, we'd frolic in the woods and have fun. One day he gave me what I thought was a true loves kiss after we went swimming...and a while later I realized I was having a baby. I went to the castle to tell Char but then went into labor. I then gave birth to a baby boy with dark hair and blue eyes and loved him so, but Char didn't love me anymore so he tried to make me forget with magic and sent me away on a ship to Andelasia. Eric I have come to believe that baby was you..." Giselle said.

"Oh my really?" Eric asked surprised.

"Yes and interestingly on the way to Andelasia I met a mermaid who said she was a queen. She comforted me like a mother and said that her name was Athena..." Giselle went on.

"My mother?! You met my mother too!" Ariel gasped and grabbed her hand.

"Met your mother? My goodness Ariel this woman IS my mother!" Eric gasped in realization.

The three of them, Giselle, Eric, and Ariel, then had a happy reunion talking about their past and future, even showing Giselle her grand daughter Melody. Everyone else there just looked on in awe as they listened to the conversation.

"There was one last thing I remember your mother saying Ariel, just before she dove into the ocean. If I remember correctly, I think it was 'Off to Neverland to see my boyfriend Peter Pan.' Do you know anyone named Peter Pan?" Giselle asked curiously.

"No I don't believe I do..." Ariel started to say.

Suddenly Morgan jumped out of her seat and interrupted, "Oh I do! Peter Pan is one of my favorite movies, with the flying and wishing upon stars and Captain Hook and of course Peter Pan. Don't you remember when we watched that together Giselle?"

"Well maybe..." Giselle pondered.

"Tell me more about Peter Pan.." Ariel asked Morgan.

"Well in the movie Peter Pan is this boy who never grows up. He flies from Neverland with his fairy friend Tinkerbell, to this bedroom where he takes a bunch of kids back to Neverland for awhile and they do all sorts of stuff like dancing and battling Captain Hook and the crocodile...Hey wait a minute didn't you say your mom was a mermaid, Ariel?" Morgan explained.

"Yes..." Ariel answered.

"Yeah I remember now there was this part where Peter Pan to Wendy to this place where there were a bunch of mermaids, who kinda looked like you, that said stuff like 'Hi Peter...tee hee hee' then they tried to beat up Wendy when they thought she was stealing him, it was pretty crazy." Morgan laughed.

"What did Peter Pan look like?" Ariel asked.

"Oh he's a boy...sort of...though more like a teenager with red hair..." Morgan pondered.

"Red...hair?" Ariel gasped.

"Well yeah.." Morgan began.

"Oh Morgan that was just the version from the movie...Anyway Peter Pan was originally a play written by J.M. Barrie in 1903 or something. I don't think these people would care about that..." Robert interrupted.

"Oh but daddy I want to show them the movie...does this hotel have a tv and a DVD player?" Morgan asked.

"What's a DVD player?' Eric and Ariel asked.

"Never mind Morgan they wouldn't know. Come on lets take a walk to go see if we can find a way home." Robert said as he and Morgan took a walk outside.

"Neverland...hmmm, come to speak of it, I think I have heard of it, maybe it was just past Andelasia..." Giselle pondered.

"Actually I think I have too...And I think that was also one of the places my father told me never to go...What if what you remember is true about my mother, that Peter Pan was my mother's ..." Ariel pondered.

"Oh yeah I know, I remember what Morgan was talking about. Yeah Peter Pan was an impetuous redheaded teenage boy who loved to get into mischief and balk at authority, especially Captain Hook. Hmm, does that make any difference to you?" Giselle asked.

"An impetuous redheaded teenager who likes to question adult authority..hmm yeah that doesn't sound like anyone I know..." Eric sarcastically amused.

"Eric stop it, this could be serious! If Peter Pan is my father.." Ariel panicked.

"Why yes he could be your father! If the film I saw was correct, and your husband thinks you're impetuous just like Peter, why then Peter Pan could be your father!" Giselle exclaimed.

"Oh good gracious!" Ariel gasped.

"Yes just like how Eric reminds me of Char, in his looks, actions, and especially his voice, why you could be the daughter of Peter Pan" Giselle exclaimed.

"Hey was Peter Pan a human?' Eric asked.

"Why yes, in the movie I believe he was." Giselle answered.

"Hmm, maybe that's why you were so fascinated by the human world hon?" Eric pondered.

"Oh Eric I don't know what to think? Anyway if Peter was human and my mother was a mermaid, how could they have?" Ariel pondered.

" I really don't know..." Giselle began to answer, but then was interrupted by Robert who summonsed Giselle to follow him. Robert, Giselle and Morgan bid the royal family farewell, and said that they were going to try their luck with the magic sewer again, to see where they'd end up next.

Meanwhile Eric tried to comfort Ariel after the revelation or rumor they'd learned about her mother and Peter Pan.

"Oh Eric do you really think that that Peter Pan guy is really my father?" Ariel sighed.

"I don't know dear, I really don't know. But still I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. King Triton will always be your father because he was the one who raised you...and he's certainly the one who cares about you like a real father would." Eric reassuringly comforted her.

"Oh yes, daddy didn't treat me differently than any of my sisters growing up, although I might have given him the most grief sometimes..." Ariel said.

"Ha ha yeah I can imagine it! Well anyway at least you had your father into adulthood. Both of my parents have been gone since I was ten. Yeah I've been an orphan since then, until we met that Giselle

woman who told that story about herself and my father in the forest years ago. Still I don't know how she could be my mother because she's so young, sort of..." Eric pondered.

"Maybe time went differently for her in that Andelasia place she said she was from?" Ariel pondered.

"Perhaps so. I guess some things we'll never know..." Eric trailed off in thought, then went on "Anyway dear then reason why we're in the New World, the United States, is because we're going to hide out from Morgana, the revolutionaries, Napoleon's army, and anyone else who might wonder where we are by going out to the American West and frontiering!"

"Frontiering? What's that?" Ariel wondered.

"Traveling westward on a wagon train until we reach a spot where we'll settle for a while on the open prairie. We'll prove up the land and carve out a little place for us and settle there for a while, and then eventually when Melody gets older lets say, we'll go back to our original kingdom and see how things have fared." Eric explained as he paced the room.

"Will we be by the sea at all?" Ariel wondered.

"No, unfortunately, but we'll have each other and it'll only be for a little while. I'll take you back to the sea sometime, okay?" Eric said as he rested an arm reassuringly across her shoulder.

"Okay, wherever you go, I'll go too." Ariel said as she rested her head on her husband's shoulder. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The next day the couple booked passage on a train which took the small family out of New York and into the beginnings of the American West. After the train, they traveled by stagecoach to another city where they boarded a riverboat bound for Springfield, Missouri. Ariel found most of the sights and sounds of the trip quite fascinating and kept asking questions to Eric about different aspects of travel, especially train travel and so forth. She enjoyed traveling on the riverboat because they were near water once more.

One morning while on the riverboat, Ariel decided to take a stroll with her daughter. She had just settled into a deck chair, when a few boys ran past, glanced over the side of the boat, shouted something, then ran back. Ariel wondered what that was all about, so she called out to a boy as she ran past.

"Boy, can you stop a moment? What is that game you play?" she shouted.

"Sorry ma'am what'd ya say?" the boy said as he skidded to a stop.

"Oh I was just wondering what that game was you and the others were playing? You need to be careful running around on the deck of a ship." Ariel inquired.

"Its no game ma'am. We were just telling the cap'n the depths of the boat, yelling 'Mark Twain' and all." the lad explained.

" 'Mark Twain'? That's a funny way to tell how deep the water is. For a minute there I thought that was your name!" Ariel laughed.

"Ha ha, no ma'am my name's Sam, Sam Clemons...but you can call me Mark Twain if you want to." the boy laughed.

"That's fine. So you work on a riverboat already, a boy so young. You should be doing whatever it is little human boys do. Is there anything you'd rather be doing?" Ariel asked.

"Sure! Why when I get back home to Missoura some of my friends and I are going to have a frog jumping contest. We'll see who has the best frog in Calaveras County, and I bet I'll win!" Sam exclaimed.

"Oh that sounds like fun! I hope your frog wins, and if he's anything like you he probably will. Oh I wish I had an address to give you, because then you can write and tell me all about the great frog jumping contest of Calaveras County." Ariel said amused.

"Yeah I wish so too. Maybe I'll do that someday...uh oh I've gotta go back to work! Bye ma'am." Sam said as he hurried off.

"Be careful running so you don't fall overboard!" Ariel called out as the boy ran across the deck and out of sight.

Suddenly another young man, not far from her age, walked across the deck and settled into a deckchair next to hers. He plopped down and sighed a bit dejectedly, pulling his hat over his eyes.

"Oh that doesn't sound good, is there something wrong sir?" Ariel asked.

"Ah nothing a little time with you madam wouldn't cure..." he suddenly perked up and said charmingly.

"Oh really? I'm glad to be of some assistance, but what is wrong, you sound a bit upset?" Ariel asked.

"Well lets just say that some of my cards didn't play out...and I didn't catch your name ma'am, my name's Brady Hawkes." Brady said as he kissed her hand.

"Hello Brady Hawkes, you're quite the charmer. My name's Ariel. Um what do you mean about cards?" she naively asked.

"Aw Miss Ariel, its the game of Jacks and Kings, and Queens, especially the Queen of hearts. Here let me demonstrate." Brady said as he proceeded to demonstrate his technique with the cards.

Suddenly a dark shadow fell over the two people who were engrossed in their card game.

"Hmm what do we have going on here?" Eric cleared his throat and glared down at them.

"Oh hi Eric! Mr. Hawkes here was showing how to play a card game called poker." Ariel exclaimed.

"Oh really? Hmm, Mr. Hawkes is it?" Eric asked sarcastically.

"Yes, Eric meet Mr. Brady Hawkes, and oh Mr. Hawkes, meet Eric my husband..." Ariel introduced them.

"Husband? I didn't know you were married! Sorry, uh I'll be leaving now. Like any gambler, I know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run..." Brady said as he grabbed his hat and cards and ran away.

"Yeah you better run!" Eric yelled at the retreating young man, then shook his head "Ah Ariel I leave you alone and the next moment I know you're playing poker with some two-bit riverboat gambler. What am I gonna do with you?"

"Well he seemed nice enough..." Ariel said.

"Ah its fine, we're going to be docking pretty soon anyway. Then on to our next adventure." Eric explained.

The boat soon docked, and they went to shore to explore the city. While there they bought the wagon, food, ammunition, oxen, horses, housekeeping, and other supplies they'd needed for their trip further west. They then found a wagon train that was willing to take them along with them part way, until they reached their land.

The journey was interesting and a bit arduous. Making friends came easy for Ariel, but watching new friends get sick or injured occasionally wasn't very fun. Still though the beauty of the land, the blue skies, and the peacefulness of some days often made up for some of the hardships along the trail.

After a few weeks Eric pulled his family off the wagon train and headed them slightly northward, until they stopped in the middle of a low laying area, and proclaimed "Ah I think we're here!"

As Eric jumped down from the wagon and strode off, Ariel stood up on the wagon seat and looked out at the prairies grasses that swayed in the breezes. "Oh Eric what is this place? The grasses are so tall they act like the sea. Wave, ripple, dip, wave, ripple, dip...just like the sea on the land! Am I just seeing things?...woah!"

"Hey hold on a moment, don't get too seasick in the wagon." Eric joked as he went over and caught Ariel before she fell out of the wagon.

"So what is this grass, why is it so tall?" Ariel asked as she glanced around.

"Oh it's just buffalo grass. We'll mow it down soon so that we can build our home soon. Oh this is a beautiful place isn't it? Blue skies and our own land again." Eric explained.

"Yeah it is God's country. So beautiful. I do think I'll like it too." Ariel said as she gave her husband a hug and contemplated the future. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

For the next few weeks Eric, Ariel, and baby Melody continued to live in their wagon as they worked to tame their few acres of land. It wasn't easy work but they did their best, and did what they could attempting to cut the grass and dig in the sod.

One day, Ariel noticed Eric was cutting strips of sod up out of the ground and was stacking it like bricks along the ground. Curious, Ariel walked over to him while carrying the baby on her hip and began asking him questions.

"Hi Eric what are you doing?"

"Hi hon, how are my two favorite girls?" Eric said as he proceeded to dust off his hands, grabbed his daughter, and gave his wife a quick kiss.

"Hmm thanks hon. We're doing fine although Mel needs to go down for a nap."

"Ha ha I bet! Here you can take her back again, it smells like she needs changed too." Eric joked.

"Oh ho, well maybe she does, here I'll take her." Ariel said as she grabbed the baby, then she continued "Shoo it's hot out here, and you're getting pretty dirty yourself. So what are you doing with all of these pieces of...land?"

"Yeah you're right it's hot out here! Did you bring any water?" Eric asked as he wiped his brow.

"Uh no...I'm sorry..." Ariel gasped.

"No need to apologize. If you bring me a drink, I'll tell you." he said a bit mischievously.

"Okay, I'll be back in two flips of a guppy's fin hon." Ariel said as she walked back toward the wagon, talking to her daughter.

Eric just glanced up at Ariel and shook his head as he chuckled at his wife's comment.

A few minutes later, Ariel came back with a basket on on arm and a pail of water on the other. She set the basket down to one side and brought the water and a tin cup over to Eric. He thanked her, then proceeded to dip the cup in the bucket to fill it, then dumped it over his head. Then he refilled the cup and took a gulp of water.

"Ha ha why did you just do that? Dump water on your head?" Ariel laughed.

"Oh ha ha, its about a hundred degrees out here dear! Don't tell me you don't feel like doing that sometimes too?"

"Well sure, but I didn't know if it was proper..."

"Ha! When did you ever worry about being proper?"

"Well yeah I guess nobody's looking..." she laughed and grabbed for the cup.

Ariel then proceeded to dip the cup in the bucket, then started to raise it over her head to cool herself off, when Eric suddenly grabbed it from her hands. He playfully held out of her reach while she jumped at it. When she all but given up and turned to reach for the bucket, Eric suddenly reached for her , held her against him and playfully said "Oh I'm sorry Ariel dear, did you want me to give you your water ?"

"Yes please kind sir" she said mockingly.

"Oh well if you say it that way, here's your water little miss" he said as he dumped the cup full over her head.

" Hey I wanted to do that myself!" she said as she wiped off her hair.

"Oh I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist! Anyway it's a hot day, you'll dry off." he laughed.

"Couldn't resist? Hmm, well two can play at that game..." Ariel said as she picked up the bucket of water and started pacing around him.

"Hey what are you going to do with that? It's hot out, but maybe not that hot." he asked skeptically.

"Oh you said it was hot out here, well here's how to cool off..." she said as she paced around with the bucket, skittering just out of his reach each time he reached for the bucket. They continued their little dance of wits a few seconds longer, until at the last moment Ariel threw the water from the bucket right at her husband.

Eric growled and wiped off his face then said "I should throw you in the stream for that one..." as he started toward her, then paused and said "Aw but I need to get back to work...And you should too, have fun.." Then he removed his wet and filthy shirt and flung it at her.

"Ew more laundry? But oh, hmm I like what I see. I should've thrown that bucket of water at you sooner." she said as she watched him work.

"Oh you do?" Eric chuckled, humbly and continued to work.

Ariel continued watching her husband work, until their daughter started to cry, so she went over to her and began to feed her while sitting in the grass, singing a tune.

Eric glanced up when he heard her singing and paused for a moment to watched his wife feed the baby.

When Ariel sensed him staring at her, she glanced up at him and coyly asked "Hmm, what are you looking at? I thought you had to work?"

"Just looking at what I like to see..." he said slightly huskily.

"Oh really?"

'Umm hmm..."

They stared at each other for a few moments longer, until Ariel said "Well maybe once I'm done feeding the baby and you're done digging in the land, we can go down to the stream again. It appears we need more water."

"Yep it appears so..." Eric said with a wink and a sly grin, then went back to digging.

After a minute or two, Ariel glanced up at him and asked "So what are you going to do with all of those land bricks?"

"Well my dear these are going to be the bricks to our new house." he said as he continued working.

"New house? How can you build a house out of pieces of land?" Ariel asked skeptically.

"Oh you can. I read about it in a book, and talked to some others about it. These pieces of land are called sod, and you're supposed to stack them together like bricks, until you make a house." he explained.

"Really? These pieces of sod can make a house? That's wonderful! Wow this living on land certainly is interesting. You can actually do things with the land that we could never do under water, like build stuff with it." Ariel gasped in wonder.

"Yeah I guess so. Although it's not that unusual because almost everything you build with comes from the land, whether its rocks or sod."

"Oh yeah I guess you're right, I'd never really thought about it before."

"Yep and maybe someday if I find enough rocks, I'll build you a stone house."

"A stone house? That would be grand! Or you could even build a stone castle!"

"A stone castle? Ha ha, I don't think I'll be able to find that many! Erm..I think we'll just stick to the soddy for now."

"Oh okay. Speaking of that, do you need any help?"

"Maybe after awhile, if you think you're up to it..." he queried.

"Oh I'll try at least for awhile, if we can swim in the creek afterward. "

"That's my girl. Ha ha, yeah maybe we can do that...and soon, if you catch my drift." he said as he winked at her and continued working.

They continued to chat awhile longer until the baby fell back to sleep and Eric decided he was done for the day. "Urgh I guess I'm done for now." Eric growled as he stretched the kinks out of his back.

"So can we go swimming now?" Ariel pleaded playfully.

"Yeah, I just need to pick up some of these things, though if you help me, it'll get done faster."

"Oh of course." Ariel said as she walked over and started to help him. She had just put a shovel away beside their wagon, when she saw her husband bent over looking at the soil and saw a gap around the edge of his pants, so being sneaky she took a handful of loose soil and dumped it there.

"Hey why'd you do that?" he yelled and tried to playfully reach for her.

"Aw I just saw an opportunity and went for it!" she said as she scampered out of his way, running toward the creek. Eric knew he could catch up to her easily, but since Ariel had already run off toward the creek, he ran over and picked up the basket their daughter was sleeping in and carried it with him down to the shore of the creek.

"Aw you finally came, slow poke!" she shouted.

"Ah but you forgot somebody, see..."

"Oh the baby! Aw how could I forget Melody? Aw she's sleeping too...okay, hmm...lets put her over here." Ariel whispered as she pointed toward an area along the bank of the creek.

Ariel had just removed her dress and was only in her underclothes when she heard a splash and saw that Eric was already in the stream.

"Hey no fair, you beat me in! I can't get these buttons..." Ariel laughed.

"Ah don't worry about it, just jump in. I'll help you. You can swim in your underclothes if you want." he said.

"Okay, but you must not be wearing much..." she said as she glanced over and noticed his pants bunched up on shore.

"I'd said I'd help you." he said with a sly grin.

"Oh I'll bet." she laughed as she proceeded to step into the stream until she was waist deep in the current. He swam over to her and took her hand to lead her further into the stream, while she commented "Oh Eric, this is different than the ocean. The water seems to be moving all in one direction and it sorta feels different, it even tastes different!"

"Well that's because its a freshwater stream which flows in one direction. Plus you're human now, so maybe it just feels different to you. Anyway just lay back and see if you can float on your back."

"Okay. Though it's funny, you teaching me how to swim! But I guess I'll have to learn many things over as a human." she said as she leaned back and floated on her back.

After floating for awhile, Ariel said "See Eric I remembered how to float, ha ha...Ah Eric where are you?" as she broke out of her float and started to too scan for him. Suddenly something grabbed her foot and broke the surface. "Hey...ah what are you doing?"

"Just grabbing one of your little feet." he said as he pulled her along.

They playfully swam together, until they drew close, he wiped the water from her eyes, and started kissing her face. When their lips came together, they locked in an embrace that lasted until they got to shore, where he helped her out of her underclothes and they made love on the bank on the creek.

After awhile, Ariel heard the sounds of her baby crying, so she got up from her husband and searched around until she found Melody's basket had drifted into the edge of the stream where it had gotten amongst some weeds. She rescued her daughter and carried her over to her husband, telling him about it.

"Guess what dear, our little baby's basket had drifted into the creek and had gotten caught in some weeds along the shore. It's a good thing we found her when we did."

"Ah ha ha, our daughter is a venerable Baby Moses!" Eric chuckled.

"Baby Moses?" Ariel asked.

"Yeah Baby Moses. You've never heard of the story of Baby Moses?"

"No..." she sad cautiously.

"Oh yeah maybe you haven't. Well anyway its a story from the Bible that most people learn as a child. Anyway in the story Pharaoh, who was sort of a king in a country called Egypt, was getting angry at his Jewish slaves, the Israelites, for some reason, so he started killing off a bunch of their babies..."

"Ew that's quite the story! And they tell that to children?" Ariel gasped.

"Ah don't worry, it gets better hon. Anyway there was this one family that hid their baby son despite Pharaoh's decree, and after awhile when he was too big to hide in their home I guess, the mother made a reed basket and put the baby in the basket, put him in the edge of the river, and had her older daughter babysit him from the shore. Eventually this Egyptian Princess came along and found the baby and wanted to adopt it, but when she needed a wet nurse to feed the baby, the older sister popped out of the bushes and volunteered her own mother. So baby Moses was raised by both his own mother and his adoptive mother, and was saved." Eric explained.

"Wow that is quite the story! Is there more to it?" Ariel asked.

"Yeah but I'd have to look it up in the Bible again." he said.

"Oh okay. Hmm, this story sounds familiar...Hey maybe You are like Baby Moses too! Why if that woman, Giselle's story is true and she's your birth mother..." she pondered.

"Yeah maybe so, but either way my father was still a prince, even if it sounds like he didn't treat Giselle very well in the end." he sulked.

"Well, maybe your dad did what he thought was best at the time. It might not have been an easy choice to make...did you ever think of that? Anyway I had a lovely time tonight. Thanks for taking me swimming, and everything else, my love." she said as she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. She snuggled down beside him then, with the baby, then pointed to the stars and said "Okay tell me which stars are which, sailor boy."

"Okay lets see, things are different than they were out on the open sea, but let me see, there's the big dipper and Leo and ..." he chuckled as he went on to describe the constellations they could see that evening.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next while flew past quickly. With the help of neighbors they were able to get their soddy and barn finished, and slowly Ariel learned how to accomplish a few more household chores, although Eric would sometimes tease her that she wouldn't make the best farm wife ever, but her efforts were sweet nonetheless.

One day, Eric was just coming back from the nearest town with a wagon load of supplies, when he heard the sound of giggling from behind the house. When he rounded the corner, he saw Ariel carrying baby Melody as she ran in between clothes that were hung out to dry on a clothesline, as the baby giggled out loud.

"Ha ha sounds like someone's having fun here. What are you two up to?" Eric laughed.

"Oh Melody was out here helping me hang out clothes, when suddenly something about the way the clothes were hanging reminded me of seaweed, so I just picked up Mel and we were pretending to swim through the seaweed." Ariel laughed.

"Ha ha, that's what I love about you dear, you have a vivid imagination. Swim through seaweed? Ha ha only you dear would imagine that, only you." he chuckled as he reached for the baby and gave her a kiss.

"Thank you dear. A good imagination never hurts, especially if that's all you have of home." she sighed.

"Ah you still miss it? Well it'll only be a few more years, then maybe we can return home. Anyway come along and you can help me unpack from my latest trip to town." he said reassuringly as he led her back to the wagon and they began to unload the purchases into their home.

After they'd unloaded nearly everything, Eric suddenly told her to close her eyes and hold out her hand, which she did. When she opened her eyes she noticed a large conch shell he'd placed in her hands , and she gasped in surprise.

"Oh Eric where'd you get this?"

"Do you like it? I found it along with some other things someone had to trade in the general store. As soon as I saw it, I thought of you."

"Well thank you! It is lovely and I wonder if..." she said as she held it up to her ear.

" Ha ha Ariel I don't think you can really hear the sea in a seashell..." Eric laughed.

"Hello, daddy? Oh hi! Oh we're doing fine! We're living in a place called..." Ariel began as she walked off, talking into the shell as well as listening.

Eric just shook his head and went outside to see to the horses. After awhile, he came back into their home and Ariel was still talking into the shell. "Oh daddy I have to ask you a question, is Peter Pan really my...Oh he's not? I'm so relieved! Yeah...okay...I'll give him your greetings. Thank you! Goodbye daddy, I love you!" she said as she set the shell on the mantle.

"Okay hon, what was that all about? You were talking to your dad? How?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, on the shell phone." she explained.

"Shell phone?"

"Yeah...uh how do I explain? Well for anyone who is an Atlantian or ever was one, any seashell on land can be used as a shell phone to phone home, but it'll only work up to seven times until the power fades." she explained.

"Really? That's interesting. Would it work for me too? Someone who's married to an Atlantian?" he asked coyly.

"No, I don't think so. You'd just hear the wax in your ear swishing around. Anyway I found out that Peter Pan's not my dad, though he might be my uncle, my father's younger brother, but it's a long story." she explained.

"Well I'm all ears tell it if you want to tell it."

"Okay...Umm well according to my father, my mom had a sister who was friends with my dad's brother Peter. Anyway I guess my aunt Merina went chasing after some prince and Peter tried to find her, but instead found Neverland. While there he captured a few pixies who he made them transform him into a teenage boy, but he ended up being a cross between a human and a pixie and thus can never age, unless he leaves Neverland. Anyway, apparently he got stuck in Neverland trying to subdue this pirate named Captain Hook, and never did go to find Merina, until it was too late. Then a number of years later when Peter finally remembered and left Neverland to look for Merina, Captain Hook escaped Neverland...and found the grotto where my family was at..." she cried.

"...And that's what happened to your mother...I'm so sorry dear..." Eric said comfortingly as he attempted to soothe his wife. "Well at least you now know what happened to your mother. It'll be all right."

"Yeah I know. I'm glad that I know the truth now and it's good to know, even if it's difficult." she sighed.

"Yes but every difficulty you overcome only makes you that much stronger." he said.

"Yes that's true! Thank you dear for reminding me of that." she said as snuggled close in a hug.

They continued then to chat and get ready for dinner and so forth. During their meal, Eric told Ariel about how his neighbor had just gotten a mail order bride, who was a young thing indeed. Ariel then agreed that she should go over for a visit soon to greet the new neighbor and have some girl talk.

The next day, Ariel packed a few items of food and her daughter, and set off on the half mile trek to the neighbor's farm. When she got there, she noticed a young blond girl hanging out wash along the clothesline.

"Hello how are you, my name is Ariel and this is my daughter Melody. I noticed that you just moved in here. I've also heard all sorts of stories that your husband is quite the character. Is that true?"

"Oh how do you do? My name is Alice Hatte I guess now. It used to be Summerwaithe, until I married Henri Hatte recently. Henri's quite the character."

"Oh yes that's true. I've always wondered about him, although my husband says I'm a bit of a character too. Hmm, are the rumors true, does he really keep a large, white, pet rabbit?"

"Oh yes Harvey is kept in a cage behind our cabin, do you want to see?"

"Okay show me the way...Oh my he's quite a large rabbit!"

"Yes Henri told me he's had Harvey for years, even back when he was still a magician. My husband became ill a few years ago, which caused his hair to become white, just like Harvey's fur. Then eventually people thought he had become quite mad, but I just think he's a bit misunderstood. Maybe you would like to have some tea instead?" Alice asked.

"Yes that sounds good."

Alice then led Ariel to a table that seemed already set up for a tea party and proceeded to pour a cup for Ariel and herself. When Ariel stared at the strange tea set, Alice reassured her, "Oh don't worry this is just a tea set my husband had picked up from one of his various journeys. He likes to keep it set up outside here in case guests show up. Tea time wasn't like this back in England."

"England? Is that where you're from?" Ariel asked.

"Yes. I originally lived in England. British born and bred, until my family's finances took a turn for the worse, so they sent me to the States, where I lived with my aunt Queenie. Oh my aunt was a real terror, claiming that if I didn't perform my chores to her specifications she'd chop off my head, so as soon as I saw Henri's ad in the paper asking for a mail-order-bride, I jumped at the chance and went. Now here I am." Alice explained.

"Oh that's interesting. So you've moved far away from your family too, Alice? Do you miss them" she asked.

"Oh yes on both accounts. Have you moved far away from your family too, Ariel? Well just to inform you, you aren't the only young woman to have made sacrifices for love or stability before, and you certainly won't be the last." Alice said boldly.

"Yes, that's true. I guess I forget sometimes. My you're young, but you certainly are wise. By the way, how old are you, Alice?"

"I just turned fourteen, but don't let my age fool you because age is the life experiences you have, not only the number of your years."

"You're fourteen? Wow! And I thought I was doing well at seventeen now! I guess we all have a lot to learn." Ariel gasped.

"Yes we do, more than you'll ever know. Oh I do miss my family and wish I could hear their voices once more, this side of Heaven, but I know that's impossible." Alice sighed wistfully.

"Really, you don't think that you'll ever see them again?" Ariel asked.

"I doubt it, but then again stranger things have happened." Alice chuckled, then went on "Oh yes I see my husband's come around again. Hello Henri we're in the back."

Suddenly a little white haired man with a wild look in his eye came around and said "Ah a tea party and you forgot to inform me?"

"I'm sorry dear but you weren't around and..." Alice started.

"Ah we have guests? Hello madam my name is Professor Henri Hatte and I hope you're enjoying our tea party?" he asked as he bowed low and doffed his multicolored top hat, and kissed Ariel's hand in greeting.

"Its nice to meet you too Henri...You're a professor?" Ariel asked as she shook his hand then pulled away. "Yes Professor of Animal Pss-sychiatry at Sss-Sta...Oh the tea part-ee..." he lisped as the little man's attention was distracted by the table setting. Then he walked over to the cage, removed the pet rabbit, and set him on one of the chairs saying "Harvey wanted to join the tea party dear."

"That's fine dear, just keep him out of the tea cakes." Alice said as she brushed off the crumbs from her skirt and continued to eat while Ariel just stared. Suddenly Henri let out some bird calls and a bunch of birds, prairie dogs, wild rabbits, and other animals seemed to suddenly gather for the unusual tea party.

After awhile Ariel excused herself and went home. When she ran into Eric again, she told him about everything she'd seen at the neighbor's house, and he reminded her that you must allow for people's differences no matter how different they may seem.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Time continued to pass and Ariel continued to read and study the Bible stories Eric had showed her, along with other parts of the Bible. She also kept up with her correspondence with other abolitionists on the sly, since slavery was still an issue even in the United States, where its constitution declared all men were created equal.

After a few years, not only did Eric and Ariel have Melody, but they also had twin sons they named Tristan and Denton. The children were a blessing, and for Ariel some of her favorite family times were in the evening before putting the children to bed, recounting some of the Bible Stories she'd read, and with her voice and songs, she gave them a flair comparable to any of the great orators of the day.

Still though despite their blessings, sometimes the twins could be a handful. One day Ariel was giving them a bath in the wash tub and told Melody to keep an eye on the babies, but when Melody went to pick up their favorite tub toys, the boys started climbing out of the tub, getting suds everywhere as they toddled and crawled away. Melody returned to the room to witness the mess the boys had made, and just moaned in despair, but Ariel found the humor in the situation and scooped up a twin to kiss his pudgy cheek and laughed, reassuring Melody that it was okay.

"Mel, why don't you go outdoors to play? I think I saw your friend Elica coming over to play."

"Aw mom do I have to? Elica sometimes laughs funny."

"Melody, don't judge lest ye be judged."

"All right mom..." Melody said as she sulked out of the house and sat beside an small tree her dad had planted outside their house.

"Hi Melody I came over to play. Do you want to play tea party? I like playing tea party. He he he.." Elica laughed, her white blond braids bobbing.

"Oh I don't know..."

"Oh come on Mel it'll be fun. I can show you my new baby rabbit Marchy." Elica coaxed Melody as she pulled her along.

The little girls ran along the path to Elica's house, where a tea party was always set up outside in the lawn. Elica grabbed some of her stuffed animals, and a cardboard box containing her tea set, then led Melody to a rabbit cage where five baby rabbits were resting in a nest.

"Th-these are my baby rabbits. Their mother was a wild hare and their daddy was Harvey, I think. Ha ha! So when I found the babies' nest, the mama ran off, and I couldn't let Harvey's babies freeze, so I put them in this cage." Elica laughed.

"Are you sure that was a good idea El? What if the mama rabbit comes back?" Melody wondered.

"Aw she won't coz I'm their mama now! Come on Mel lets take the bunnies down to the stream so we can have our tea party!"

"Okay El..."

"Oh Mel, I'll take the rabbits, while you can carry my ol' stuffed puffer fish." Elica said as she carefully removed the baby bunnies from the cage and place them in the apron of her skirt.

Melody stared at the fish and laughed, then followed Elica to the bank of the stream, where they set up their tea party in a circle. Elica soon realized that she didn't have enough teacups, so she and Melody gathered acorns and used them for teacups in their pretend party.

Elica then whipped out doll clothes and began dressing the bunnies in bonnets and jackets. Melody just stared at the rabbits as Elica went on to say "Now their all dressed for tea! Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail are wearing their bonnets, while Marchy and Peter Rabbit have on their dinner jackets."

The girls were having a fun time, until Melody asked why Elica's family loved to have tea parties all the time. Elica responded in surprise "I don't know thats just the way my parents are? Anyway my dad knows magic, see this trick he taught me..." Then she proceeded to show Melody a slight of hand trick with a few acorn caps.

"Aw that's nothing! My mom sings to the fish and talks to my grandpa in a shell." Melody exclaimed.

"Na uh! How can she do that? Where did she get the shell, out of the ground? My dad found a rock with a shell in it just the other day. He called it a Trig-lee-o-bite-ee or something. Do you want to see it?" Elica asked.

"Okay maybe. Though I don't know if I can make it talk or anything." Melody said.

Suddenly the girls heard a loud "Meow" and a large striped tom cat skulked out of the grass and ran right at the girls' tea party. "Chester no! Aaaah!" Elica squealed as she and Melody and the baby rabbits ran to a fro. The girls both chased the cat and ran from the cat as it chased the bunnies. Elica was able to rescue Marchy, cuddling him close, but soon the girls found the three bunnies bonnets and a large grin on the cat's face.

"Oh no Chester ate Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail! Bad kitty Chester! Bad, bad kitty!" Elica cried as she burst into tears and the cat just grinned.

Melody put a comforting arm around her friend and led her home, where Elica put the remaining bunny back in his cage. "Poor Marchy! He's all alone now! Chester ATE Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail! And I don't know what happened to poor Peter Rabbit either? Chester probably ate him too!" Elica wept.

"Oh I'm so sorry. M-maybe Chester didn't eat Peter Rabbit yet. Maybe he's still safe? We didn't find his jacket yet, so maybe he's still okay." Melody tried to reassure her friend, while in tears herself.

"Yeah m-maybe..."

"Elica maybe you can show me that shell your dad found." Melody asked.

"Oh, okay...Its right over here..." Elica said as she led Melody into her house and carefully removed the fossil from a shelf. Melody examined the fossil carefully, as Elica said "Yeah my dad said that millions of years ago seas covered this land and it let seashells and stuff get buried in the ground, but then the sea went away and left just the fossils behind."

"The sea just went away? How can the sea just go away?" Melody gasped.

"I don't know it just did?"

"I hope it doesn't go away again coz I want to see the sea sometime." Melody sighed.

"Yeah I'd like to too. Maybe when I'm grown up I'll see the sea. He he that rhymes, 'see the sea.'" Elica giggled.

"I guess so. When I'm grown up I want to live in a castle by the sea..." Melody sighed.

"Oh blimey ya wanna live in a castle? You wanna be a princess or something? Oh I don't need to be a princess, I'll just convince my cute boy and we'll live by the sea married nice and proper...and you can come to visit coz we'll have chums over every Friday." Elica giggled.

"Oh that sounds nice...But Elica who are you going to marry?" Melody asked.

"I dunno, how about that guy that lives down the road?"

"Who, Mr. Todd?" Melody gasped.

"Yeah he's cute don't you think?" Elica commented.

"Yeah I guess...but he's rather strange and he's almost as old as my dad?!" Melody gasped.

"Oh yeah, maybe he is a bit old...Oh well maybe I'll find someone else." Elica sighed.

"Well I know, lemme show you the shell my mom has, come on El!" Melody exclaimed as she pulled her friend along to her home.

When the girls arrived, Melody showed Elica the shell by climbing on a chair and carefully lifting the shell off the shelf. She then began explaining how her mom could talk to her grandfather by just lifting the shell to her ear. Melody had just lifted the shell to her own ear to listen, when suddenly her mother's yell could be heard. So startled, Melody accidentally dropped the shell on the floor and a piece broke off. Melody gasped and didn't know what to say, when suddenly Ariel burst into the room with a garden hoe in hand.

"Oh hi girls! I just saw the strangest sight, a rabbit wearing a dinner jacket just hopped through my garden and was nibbling on my lettuce!" Ariel exclaimed.

"Peter Rabbit!" the girls exclaimed as they ran out the door in search of the rabbit.

In the meantime, Ariel set her garden hoe off to the side and noticed that one of the twins had gotten up from his nap and was chewing on something. Ariel walked over and scooped up her son, removing the object from his grasp.

"Hmm what do we have here? You don't need to eat that, it's yucky. Hmm...what? Hey how did you get mommy's shell? Did Tristan climb all the way up there to that big tall shelf and grab mommy's shell, hmm?" Ariel asked as she playfully scolded her son and put the piece of broken shell back on the shelf.

"Hmm I wonder where the rest of it went to?" Ariel asked aloud while she scanned the room and suddenly spotted the other twin chewing on the other piece of shell. "Ah there it is! Oh Denton give it to mommy. Thank you. Yeah that old shell is yucky, blech! You don't eat that!" she said as she picked up the piece and set it on a shelf. She then bent down and picked up the other twin, carrying them outside and setting them in a little fenced area Eric had fashioned on the side of the house. "Oh what am I gonna do with you two? You're almost as bad as the Clambakersfield twins! Ha ha but I love you! Be good boys."

Suddenly Melody came into view and she bounded over "Oh do you have the boys corralled ma?"

"Yeah they were getting into things in the house. Maybe you can help me set the table for supper. You're father's supposed to be home soon too, for which I'll be glad." Ariel said as she scanned the horizon and pushed back a few strands of hair.

Melody helped set the table while Ariel finished with her stew, until they heard the sounds from a familiar horse come galloping up the lane. They all went out to greet Eric, who swung off his horse and scooped up his daughter, giving her a fatherly hug.

"Hi daddy you're home! I missed you!"

"And I missed you too sweetie. I have some news to share with your mama too."

"Oh goody! I hope it's good news!" Melody said as her father set her down and she ran back into the house.

"And how are you dear?" Eric said as he leaned down and gave his wife a kiss.

"Mmm, better now that you're back. So how was your trip?"

"Good, good, I'll tell you at the table though. Oh have the boys been giving you trouble Ariel?"

"Oh nothing more than usual...although not long ago I'd found them chewing on pieces of my conch shell which had somehow fallen off the shelf and broken. Somehow I doubt they were ones to climb up there and get it though."

"Sorry about your shell hon. I'm afraid I didn't bring any back this time, but I think I know what or who might've helped the twins." Eric said slyly agreeing.

The family sat down to dinner, said grace, then dug into their meal. They each told about their day, although part of Ariel's conversation peaked Melody's attention.

"Oh my day was the usual, until this afternoon when I saw a rabbit wearing a silk dinner jacket nibbling on my lettuce. Then when I went in the house, I found that somehow Tristan and Denton had broken my conch shell and were chewing on the pieces! I was very surprised since I thought it was far out of their reach." Ariel exclaimed in surprise.

Suddenly Melody gasped and looked down at her plate, then mumbled something. Eric heard her and asked "Hmm Melody did you say something? I didn't quite hear..."

"I said I'm sorry...I'm sorry I broke mama's shell. I know I wasn't supposed to touch it." Melody said quietly ashamed.

"Aw its okay honey don't cry. I'm glad you told me the truth. Maybe we can just bury that old shell somewhere." Ariel said soothingly to her daughter.

"Well I have something that is bound to cheer you all up. Finally at long lost, much to your mother's pleasure, circumstances have now made it that we can travel back to the place where we came from. We're moving back home." Eric said as Ariel gasped in surprise.

"We're going home? I thought we were home?" Melody asked curiously.

"Well honey before we lived here, beautiful as it is, we lived in a beautiful kingdom by the sea..." Eric explained.

"Really? Are we going back there again?" Melody asked excitedly.

"Yes and we're moving as soon as we can. We will rent this place, most of the contents included, to whomever we can and I've already made arrangements to set sail in two weeks." Eric went on.

"Two weeks? Wow we'll have to get ready fast. But you said we'll leave most everything else behind, which is good. Still in someways I'll miss our little spread on the American prairie. I also feel like I haven't accomplished enough because some issues still exist in this country, issues that I'd rather didn't." Ariel said with a tear in her eye.

"Well dear you did your best, raising the children thus far, being my helpmate, and even still working with the abolitionists apparently...hmm? Well if I can say anything, it'd be job well done so far, because your not done yet, dear. We're only just beginning another chapter in this little thing called life." Eric tried to comfort her, although Ariel was still happy if not a bit wistful.

The next two weeks flew by and before they knew it, it was time to leave. A family, the Nilsson's had decided to rent the property with the intent to improve upon it. Their neighbors, Professor and Alice Hatte and their family wished them a fond farewell, as Eric & Ariel and their children boarded a private coach that had come for them.

From the coach, they traveled by train, and after the train they spent a bit of time exploring New York and buying new clothes for everyone. Finally, they boarded a large ship which sailed them back to their home country. When they finally arrived, Melody was overjoyed by the fact that she was going to get to live in a castle by the sea, but she didn't know why it had such a big wall around it. Nor did she understand why her mother would change the subject whenever she asked about having a picnic on the beach or go swimming in the ocean. Somehow Melody knew that she'd go swimming someday in that ocean, no matter what her parents had thought of it, she thought as she disembarked from the boat and was led into the castle.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next several years flew by quickly, with the children growing a bit more and the sea being tantalizingly close for Ariel. So close, yet so far away, she would sometimes go out to the edge of the wall where the shoreline should be, and where a bit of sand filtered through a drainage grate in the wall and would wade in barefoot.

She even did that on Melody's twelfth birthday, which was somewhat embarrassing since she realized Melody was growing up too. She sighed and thought about how she hadn't seen her father or sisters in almost a dozen years, and hadn't spoken to her father in nearly as long. Being pampered again as royalty had seemingly taken off a few of the years that life on the prairie had added to her, but there some things she missed, such as taking care of her own children. That was now mostly relegated to a staff of nannies, although Melody seemed to be becoming a young lady now and was outgrowing the need for a nanny or governess. Ariel could only hope that her daughter's twelfth birthday party would go off without a hitch, as she walked back into the castle.

The birthday party started out well, with Melody even getting the opportunity to waltz with Tsarevich Nicholas Anderovich, the presumed heir to the Russian throne, but somehow Sebastian got involved in the dance, pinched the lad's finger, and eventually caused an upset of the cake and all of the guests. The party soon dissolved, and an embarrassed Melody fled to her room.

When Ariel went to her daughter's room to comfort her, somehow their conversation turned into an argument about the sea and the past, and soon both Melody and Ariel said a few things to each other they'd soon come to regret. The next few days afterward were a tense few, with Melody running away, somehow meeting up with Morgana, and getting turned into a mermaid herself. When Eric and Ariel learned of this they became frantic, with Ariel making the ultimate decision to turn back into a mermaid for a bit to find her daughter.

Eventually they found Melody who was surprised that the trident Morgana had convinced her to steal had been her grandfather's. A crazy battle ensued, with Melody helping her parents and grandfather King Triton defeat Morgana, and in the end she decided to stay human because she knew that it was needed for her family's legacy to continue as it should. As well, losing the wall and reopening shoreline to commerce and holiday makers was an added bonus to all.

One day Eric even decided to play a trick on his wife. He'd been rowing his boat along the shore, when he decided to turn the boat over and lay down on the edge of the shore, like he'd been knocked unconscious, knowing full well his wife would be coming along soon on her daily walk. Sure enough a few minutes later Max came barking along and went up to him and started licking his face.

"Sh, quiet ya ol' mutt I'm trying to laying still." Eric told the dog, then closed an eye.

"Oh Max where are you? Oh-oh no! Eric what happened, did your boat capsize? Let me check, are you still breathing? Oh my pretty boy I cannot let you die, I will not let you die! Oh lets see if this works..." Ariel said in a panicked fluster, checking for a heart beat and breath. Hearing his heart, she tilted his head back to give him a rescue breath, to only find herself moments later kissing him, and having him roll her over in the sand.

"Hello there, I'd say your rescue technique has improved some since the first time." Eric said impishly smiling down at her.

"Oh you! You scared the daylights out of me, you fool! I thought you were really in danger, and here you were just faking it. Rescue technique indeed!" Ariel said as she playfully slapped his arm.

"I'm sorry dear, do you forgive me?" Eric said as he started to get up.

"Only if you help me up out from here. Feel too old to be laying in the cold sand. I'm not a teenager anymore. " Ariel said.

"Oh really? Well I bet I can still give my old wife a piggyback ride back home. Come on." Eric chuckled.

"All right if you feel up to it. Ha ha." Ariel chuckled.

"Come on Max lets go home ol' boy." Eric said to his old dog, as carried his wife piggyback style part way across the beach, as Ariel transferred his hat to her head. Then as they neared the castle, Ariel slid off, and they walked arm in arm the rest of the way with their dog trailing behind, howling at the moon.


End file.
